The UW-Madison College of Agricultural & Life Sciences announced a renovation project that would turn the historic dean’s residence near Allen Centennial Gardens into a meeting space for the school’s students and faculty.
In partnership with the university’s fundraising campaign All Ways Forward, CALS will use roughly $2 million to refurbish the building into a home for the school’s “signature student experiences,” according to the initiative’s website.
More than 72 percent of CALS students take part in three or more of these beyond-classroom experiences, the website says, which include joining an affiliated student organization, studying abroad, working on grant-funded research or having an internship.
The college currently does not have a designated meeting space for its more than 20 student groups, according to the website. There are also limited spaces for services like alumni mentoring activities, international study programs and corporate recruiter interviews.
Donors can claim naming rights to areas within the building, with amounts ranging from $25,000 for front-door entrances to $5 million for naming the building as a whole, according to a press release. Additional monetary gifts to the house will be used for furnishing and upkeep, as well as supporting the student activities inside.
The house was built in 1896 as a private residence for then-Dean of Agriculture William Henry, and in the years since it has been home to the four deans and their families following Henry. Today, the interior still resembles the Queen Anne Gothic home constructed in the 19th century.
