Chippewa Valley Times

The groundbreaking ceremony for the new Science and Health Sciences Building has elicited various reactions from notable figures in the community.

Jay Rothman, President of Universities of Wisconsin, emphasized the building's potential impact: “This new building has the potential to far transcend its brick and mortar. Within these future walls that will stand right here, guided by talented faculty and staff who will call it home, more students will get the opportunity to advance their knowledge and skills and, quite frankly, advance the knowledge of humankind.”

Former state senator Kathy Bernier highlighted the importance of relationships in realizing such projects: “A project like this is about creating and maintaining relationships. The relationships that UW-Eau Claire cultivated with Mayo Clinic and relationships Chancellor (James) Schmidt fostered with Chippewa Valley legislators — and there are so many others.”

Tommy Thompson, former governor and interim president of Universities of Wisconsin, pointed out the unique educational opportunities available at UW-Eau Claire: “The young students who come to this great campus will be looking out on this beautiful river, working in the research laboratories of Mayo and getting the education that they couldn’t get any other place in the country.”

Dr. Tim Nelson, Director of Innovation for Mayo Clinic Health System in Northwest Wisconsin, expressed gratitude towards alumni: “The students of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire is why we are here today. I wish all 100,000 alumni were standing here right now because it is the alumni, the success of our faculty, the success of the students who went through there previously that allowed everybody behind me to buy into the vision.”

State Representative Jodi Emerson acknowledged bipartisan efforts in bringing this project to fruition: “I want to thank Chancellor Jim for understanding that it not only takes a village but a bipartisan effort. This was something that every single one of us worked on — past, present and I’m sure there will be future legislators who will be working on this.”

Dr. Doug Dunham, Professor and Chair of Materials Science and Biomedical Engineering Department at UW-Eau Claire, described how the new facility addresses educational needs: “The new Science and Health Sciences building is a transformative endeavor that addresses pressing issues head-on. The state-of-the-art facility is designed to meet both current and future educational demands, featuring tailored labs to foster collaboration and innovation.”