New office ready to answer questions about UW-Madison

The recently created Campus Information and Visitor Center‘s primary goal is to answer questions about the UW–Madison campus from members of the campus community, prospective students and their families, and the general public.

CIVC staff members say that if they don’t know the answer, they will find someone who does. That task is not always easy, as evidenced by the “Far Out Question Book,” a journal kept by information desk staff members since 1993.

“Where on campus can I donate my body to science?” one caller looking for a little extra cash had asked.

“Is it true that UW–Madison students are mostly hippies?” asked another curious caller.

“Will my Hummer fit in campus parking garages?” queried a concerned commuter.

The journal exists, student supervisor Sarah Kretman explains, to make the questions easier to answer the next time.

“Things are changing all the time,” the biology major says. “It’s what makes this job challenging. We all work on questions together and do our best to find the answer.”

Students say the job is fun, and it’s supposed to be.

But it is also serious business, explains Wren Singer, CIVC director. The center was created by the January merger of the Office of Visitor Services and part of Campus Information, Assistance and Orientation. The merger is intended to create a single campus unit responsible for answering questions about the university and welcoming visitors.

“The student employees are on the front lines when it comes to explaining our campus to prospective students, campus visitors and the general public,” Singer says.

Of the office’s 50 student employees, half are part of the “information staff,” which is there to answer questions. The other half make up the “tour staff,” which conducts daily tours for prospective students and the public.

“Our tour guides spend about 90 minutes walking around campus with their groups,” Singer says. “They have more interaction with prospective students and the public than just about anyone else on campus.”

The close relationship the CIVC staff has with prospective students and their families makes it a key unit for promoting campus diversity.

“There is an emphasis on recruiting minority students as tour guides,” Singer says. “We want prospective students of color to get a firsthand account of the experiences minority students have on this campus.”

CIVC also distributes campus brochures and off-campus housing information. Fees charged to local landlords and tenant sublets for having their properties listed on CIVC’s Web-based housing directory generate about $80,000 a year, much of which pays student salaries.

Singer estimates that the information staff serves 500,000 clients each year, while the visitor center in the Red Gym and visitor programs such as campus tours serve about 30,000 annually.

Though both information and tour services have been available for years, Singer says many people on campus don’t know the services exist or are confused by the unit’s new name.

“We want everyone, especially faculty, staff and students to know that they can call us with any question about the university,” explains Singer, who also works a shift at the information desk each week. “This is not a new duty, but we want to remind the campus that we are here. We won’t just refer questions, we will do the legwork to help find the answer.”

CIVC is on the first floor of the Red Gym, 716 Langdon St., and can be reached at (608) 263-2400. Daily campus tours take place at 3 p.m. on weekdays and noon on the weekends, or by appointment.