Campus Fundraising

UW-Madison Prepares to Build New Computer Science Building

• By Matt Jones
• 09/23/21

The University of Wisconsin–Madison announced recently that plans are in motion to construct a new building for the School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences. The facility is projected to cost about $225 million and will be funded by private donors, according to a university press release. It has already secured a $175-million private investment, and fundraising is underway for the final $50 million.

The new facility will measure in at 300,000 square feet and stand seven stories. It will house students in the computer sciences and statistics departments, as well as the Information School. It will also play home to the university’s Center for Throughput Computing, the American Family Insurance Data Science Institute, and the Department of Biostatistics & Medical informatics. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023 and finish by December 2024.

“The School of Computer, Data & information Sciences is a place where our faculty and students will shape the way technology influences and enriches our lives,” said UW–Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank. “We are fortunate to have the support of visionary alumni John and Tashia Morgridge and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, a partner in extending the impact of UW–Madison ideas to the world, to build a new home for the school’s vital work.”

Last week, alumni John and Tashia Morgridge committed $125 million to the project, $50 million of it in the form of a challenge grant that would provide a one-to-one match to raise another $50 million from similar wealthy donors. The university has received another $50 million from WARF.

“This is an investment in UW–Madison and the state of Wisconsin that will help secure their place in our shared future,” said John Morgridge, a 1955 graduate of the school who currently serves as the president, CEO and chairman of the board of Cisco Systems. “Tashia and I hope our commitment will inspire others to see the transformative potential of this project and help get it over the finish line.”

According to a press release, the computer science major’s enrollment has grown from 200 to 2,000 over the last ten years. CDIS’ three main components have a total enrollment of more than 3,600 undergraduate and graduate students studying robotics, cybersecurity, software design, machine learning, information retrieval and more.