By: William Soquet, Greg Bintz, Zach Glander, and Jared Valleskey
Right after the school year started, UWGB released its final revised copy of its master plan. This will guide the school’s actions for decades to come and impact every student and faculty member in some way. The COMM Voice spoke to some faculty within the University to get their thoughts on the plan and what that means for the University moving forward.
Cofrin Library is due for replacement in the new master plan. Photo credit: Etzedek24 via Wikimedia Commons
What is a master plan? “It’s a long-term strategy of where buildings should be placed,” said Jeff Jacobs, Chief Facilities Officer at UWGB. “Anything that we do moving forward, we won’t duplicate efforts. We don’t take a space that might have been designated for something else that is done through the master plan. We’ll line up projects… and it kind of takes a look at the campus, and everywhere buildings should go around that.”
As the master plan is a comprehensive project, it wasn’t something that simply happened in a day. “This process started before COVID, and after COVID hit, we had to take a 6-9 month heitis and then return to our goal planning and future vision,” said Sheryl Van Gruensven, Senior Vice Chancellor of Institutional Strategy for UWGB. “Everything was decided through the University, so we did not give the final say because it had to be processed and accepted.”
Two of the main features of the master plan are the replacement of the Cofrin Library and the development of some wooded land near Wood Hall to create the Phoenix Innovation Park. The library, while a staple of campus, is deteriorating, according to a report from The Fourth Estate. The Phoenix Innovation Park plans come on the heels of the recent STEM Innovation Center, located by the Laboratory Sciences building. The STEM center has also hosted community organizations such as the Einstein Project and Brown County 4-H Extension. Other improvements include a new roadway called “Inner Loop Road,” which will connect Technology Drive and the Wood Hall parking lot, and a new technology building to further improve the University’s STEM offerings. Various upgrades to housing are also planned, including the phase-out of some “trad” apartment buildings.
The master plan proposes various “communities,” including the Phoenix Innovation Park. File credit: UWGB Facilities
Even though UWGB has all the planning in place, it does not fully control its own destiny in this regard. “There are other things that are involved in that, the state approvals, DOA [Department of Administration], DNR [Department of Natural Resources] approvals, and all of that stuff going through,” explained Jacobs. This means that even the best-laid plans can be spoiled, and the end result may not be exactly what the plan calls for.
While the perception of the master plan has been fairly positive, it’s not all roses and sunshine. “The biggest pushback was regarding the tunnels because when the Cofrin Library is gone, the tunnels will not connect to the new library,” Van Gruensven noted. It is likely that more resistance to the plan will come during the teardown of the library when students get their first taste of life without tunnels connecting the various buildings.
While changes from the master plan may not be immediately evident, if all goes according to plan, the campus will look a lot different than it does today. Despite any lack of tunnels or other unexpected downsides, future Phoenix students will likely benefit from the upgrades that the master plan has afforded them.