State OKs initial funding of BioStar

The State Building Commission has authorized the university to begin planning a $27 million addition to the Biotechnology Center, the first step in a 10-year plan to modernize the biosciences campus.

The vote May 2 to release $570,500 in planning funds is part of the proposed $317 million BioStar Initiative, unveiled by Gov. Tommy Thompson in his January State of the State address. The initiative involves a coordinated plan for four building projects in the Henry Mall area, to be financed with a 50-50 split of state funding and private support.

“This investment will allow us to educate and train the scientists and researchers for the work force of tomorrow,” Thompson says. “This will help Wisconsin stay out in front in the race to create the Silicon Valley of the 21st century.”

Provost John Wiley gave the building commission a proposed plan of action for the building projects, and discussed the rationale behind BioStar. The buildings this initiative will eventually replace – such as E.B. Fred Hall and the old Biochemistry Building – are inadequate to meet modern standards for teaching, research and safety, he says.

The biosciences also are one of UW–Madison’s fastest-growing research and teaching areas, comprising more than 800 faculty across 60 departments, and generating more than $200 million a year in research funding.

Students are flocking to biology-related fields, Wiley adds. A recent survey of this year’s freshman class found that 30 percent of them intend to major in a biology-related department.

“BioStar will be a tremendous step toward bringing our physical campus in line with the high level of student interest and research output,” Wiley says. “This will prepare us for the growth we expect to see in this area.”

Wiley says the proposed buildings reflect UW–Madison’s new emphasis on interdisciplinary teaching and research, with space that would be shared by several related departments. The building projects include:

The Biotechnology Center addition, which will provide space for the new Genome Center of Wisconsin, and eventually replace the antiquated Genetics Building next door, at 445 Henry Mall.
A new Microbial Sciences building. The facility would replace the aging and overcrowded E.B. Fred Building, 1550 Linden Drive, and provide an academic center for the departments of microbiology, immunology and food safety.
The Biochemistry building renovation. It will almost completely replace the existing century-old building on Henry Mall and provide specialized teaching and research space matching the quality of the 1998 biochemistry addition.
A new Interdisciplinary Sciences building. This will be a campus-wide resource that focuses on collaborative approaches to undergraduate and graduate education. It is still in early planning stages and several locations are being considered.

In-depth: Biotechnology at UW–Madison