Last updated: Saturday, 14-Mar-2009 19:10:18 Central Daylight Time
January 25, 2002
Remodeling Project to Enhance Business College
A favorable bidding climate will enhance planned improvements and renovations to South Hall at UW-River Falls, soon to be the new home of its College of Business & Economics.
The nation's economic downturn meant more bidders than normal on the $1.1 million renovation project, according to UW-RF project engineer Jim Murphy. While labor costs will remain the same as anticipated, proposals opened last week showed that bidders and vendors bid lower than expected as a result of higher construction materials inventories and by slashing their profit margins to obtain construction contracts.
That trend is holding true to other UW-RF improvement projects, Murphy said. "We had many more firms submit bids than participated in the South Hall project walk-through" prior to the bidding deadline, Murphy said.
The end result is that the $1.1 million set aside for the project in Wisconsin's 1999-2001 biennial budget will go further toward meeting the College's needs.
That's more good news added to what has already been a pretty good year for the newest college at UW-River Falls, said Dean Barbara Nemecek.
"We are creating a vibrant, dynamic college that will help move our region and Wisconsin forward by producing highly skilled graduates. We'll also be better poised to provide continuing education to business and industry, and to provide business development assistance," Nemecek said.
Since last summer,
•The unit was upgraded by the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents from a school to the College of Business & Economics.
•Nemecek was brought in as the College's founding dean from her position as dean of the College of Business at Montana State University at Billings.
ªThe state's two recent economic development summits led Gov. Scott McCallum and the Wisconsin Legislature to fund an economic stimulus package enabling the College's department of computer science and information systems to enroll 30 more students and hire two faculty for the start of the fall semester.
•The College completed its first year of successful candidacy for accreditation with the AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.)
Nemecek said the new College's consolidation in South Hall will bring 27 faculty and staff and 1,200 majors to that building. Its departments include business administration, economics, and computer science and information systems. Also relocating will be the Center for Economic Education, the Center for Economic Research, and the Small Business Development Center, which all will see an expanded mission to provide more services to the region's business community in such areas as business start-ups and management, research services, and economic development.
"Any time an academic unit has a facility it can call 'home' it tends to build collegiality and will build on an image within and outside the campus," Nemecek said. "We'll have a better working environment and atmosphere among faculty, students and other constituents who are using the College."
The South Hall renovations will allow the College to enhance its reliance on technology as an instructional tool through the rewiring and renovation of two laboratories that will house its instructional technology laboratory and a general access computer laboratory for CBE students. Murphy notes that the savings gained through the recent bids will enable the College to further upgrade the technology infrastructure and provide a classroom for larger lectures.
Other improvements include the replacement of deteriorating corridor floors in the 104-year-old building, creating office spaces for faculty, and building a student study lounge.
Murphy said he expects the construction contracts to be finalized by April with remodeling to begin immediately. The College is expected to relocate in time for the fall semester, he said.
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