Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall will welcome students this fall, Associate Dean of Arts and Humanities Grant Nelsestuen told The Daily Cardinal.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison announced the construction of the Irving and Dorothy Levy Hall in May 2024. The building will be home to eight Humanities departments,: African American Studies, American Indian & Indigenous Studies, Asian American Studies, Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies, Gender & Women’s Studies, History, Jewish Studies and Religious Studies.
“It’s likely that nearly every incoming student will take a class in Levy Hall over the course of their college education,” Interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots said in May 2024.
Located at North Park and West Johnson, the 136,000 square feet building includes 13 classrooms and a rooftop garden. Levy Hall features classrooms from the large Phillips Auditorium to mid-sized and smaller sized spaces, all equipped with state-of-the-art facilities.
“It’s a new building. It’s going to have 21st century technology, lots of light and many amenities. It will provide a modern, clean and vibrant space for faculty and students," Nelsestuen said.
The building is named after the parents of Badger alums Marv and Jeff Levy who donated $20 million to the project. The $115 million building also received $60 million in state support. Wisconsin lawmakers allocated an additional $5 million to demolish and relocate the departments of the old humanities building.
“It sends a strong signal that the humanities play a crucial role at UW — Madison and in our lives in general,” Nelsestuen said about the University’s investments in the arts and humanities.
Levy Hall will serve as a holistic environment that serves the needs of faculty, staff and students at the same time, according to Nelsestuen. The building’s planning process brought together architecture firms, department chairs and students to ensure the building reflected the needs of its future users.
“[Levy Hall] is a concrete testament —literally — to the investment that UW-Madison has in the humanities and the importance that it plays in students’ lives, whether they major in humanities or not,” Nelsestuen said.
