Partnership enhances chemistry research

Fred Milverstedt

Public and private resources totaling $38.9 million have made possible the expansion and renovation of chemistry research facilities at the university.

Formal dedication of the structure, which includes a new seven-story research tower, is scheduled for today, Sept. 15. A reception will follow the 3 p.m. ceremony, with self-guided tours scheduled from 3:30-5 p.m.

Designed to meet stringent new safety standards for research labs and vastly improve collaborative exchange among students, faculty and staff, the facilities will increase Department of Chemistry ability to recruit competitively and to maintain its leadership position well into the new century.

“It’s a dream come true,” says Phillip R. Certain, dean of the College of Letters and Science. “During 20 years of planning that went into these facilities, the whole field of chemistry has been transformed. There now is a major emphasis on biological chemistry, and with these improvements, our facilities are perfectly designed for the next 30 years.”

With construction getting under way in fall 1998, early impetus for the project resulted from the establishment of WISTAR (Wisconsin Initiative for State Technology and Applied Research), conceived in the early 1990s for the purpose of upgrading UW scientific research facilities.

Following legislative approval, state funding for WISTAR included $17 million for the chemistry project. Subsequently, funding to match the state’s input and cover total costs of chemistry construction was attained through university and federal resources and private gifts from alumni, faculty, UW friends and corporations.

The lead gift of $13 million was made through the William F. Vilas Trust, established in 1908 by the estate of a former Madison attorney and businessman who also was a U.S. senator, postmaster general and secretary of the interior, as well as a UW regent.

The Vilas Fund historically has provided support for student scholarships, research professorships and building projects — among the latter, the recently constructed Biotechnology Center and Genetics Lab.

Other funding from the UW community was generated by the University of Wisconsin Foundation, the College of Letters and Science, and the Department of Chemistry. Alumni, faculty and friends contributed an additional $2 million in personal gifts.

Grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, and a gift from the Dow Chemical Company, covered the remainder of the funding.

Individuals and businesses making significant gifts include Clifford J. Burg, Billings, Montana; Elizabeth S. Hirschfelder and Mildred and Irving Shain, Madison, Wisconsin; Jane and C.V. Wittenwyler, Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and the Rohm and Haas Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.