UW Campus In Marshfield Seeks Private Funding For Building Project

Despite projected budget cuts, University of Wisconsin-Marshfield/Wood County is pushing ahead with a planned $8 million building project. The campus is trying to raise money from private sources, and from local governments.

The campus’s science building hasn’t been upgraded since it was built in 1964, doesn’t have enough room for students, and has serious safety issues, such as with its fire escape routes. UW-Marshfield/Wood County Dean Patricia Stuhr said there’s also a problem with the storage and transportation of volatile chemicals.

“We actually store volatile chemicals downstairs and then they have to be brought up in a very outdated elevator,” Stuhr said. “The professor has to take a cart, take the volatile chemicals, put them in the elevator, push the second floor button, and then run up the steps in order to get them out because there’s not room for him and the cart in the elevator.”

The campus is trying to raise $6 million for a new building from private donations, and another $2 million from Wood County and the city of Marshfield.