We envision a future where students, faculty, staff, industry partners, alumni, and community members access modern, safe, and sustainable spaces that contribute to a vibrant and collaborative campus environment.
Our physical and virtual spaces provide the foundation for academic excellence, world-class research, community engagement, meaningful collaboration, and student success outside the classroom.
They also help us develop, recruit, and retain talented students and employees, provide outreach to the local and state community, and promote well-being and a connection to the campus’s unique natural setting.
Sustainable Solutions to Food Insecurity
Frozen Meal Program
Housing Dining’s Frozen Meals Program diverts surplus Dining meals to pre-packaged microwaveable meals at no cost to any UW-Madison student.
Pick-ups are available at 4 locations in our campus community, including: The Crossing, Hillel, The Pres House, and First Congregational Church.
Locally Grown Produce
Student Culinary Farm
In 2023, University Housing’s Dining and Culinary Services opened a new 1.5-acre growing area on campus at the Eagle Heights Community Gardens to support student learning opportunities and campus grown produce.
Goals
The hope for the space is to produce around 9,000 pounds of vegetables annually, and Dining plans to utilize that produce within its various dining facilities.
Keeping our Labs Safe
Lab Safety
a chemical inventory platform that UW System is implementing across all campuses. This new service provides UW-Madison with a single modern purchasing and inventory platform to be used across campus. It also ensures the safety of faculty, staff and emergency responders, enhances our ability to demonstrate compliance to regulatory agencies and facilitates the work of faculty and staff to order, manage, and dispose of chemicals.
ChemMANAGER+
In the first year of ChemManager+:
124,796 Containers Labeled/ Uploaded
1,000 users added
130 labs added
Sustainability is a Priority
Sustainability throughout the Process
The new sustainability goals announced by Chancellor Mnookin in February 2024 include the most comprehensive environmental sustainability initiatives in UW–Madison’s history and will advance the university’s research and education missions while also making campus a living laboratory for sustainable practices.
Sustainable Buildings
The School of Computer, Data, & Information Sciences’ Morgridge Hall, is the most sustainable on campus as it will feature elements to conserve water, reduce energy consumption, and create an overall environment that encourages our innate desire to connect with nature.
To create a built environment that enhances learning, discovering, living, working, and belonging, we commit to the following priorities:
Advance research
Support UW-Madison’s research enterprise with necessary infrastructure and practices, such as shortening the time to prepare laboratory spaces.
Reduce environmental impact
Continue to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and the waste generated at UW-Madison.
Design Places
Create spaces that enhance the overall health and well-being of the university community.
Deliver Housing
Provide high-quality and affordable on-campus housing options for students.
Partner collaboratively
Partner with the Universities of Wisconsin and the State of Wisconsin to address challenges presented by aging facilities.
Operate sustainably
Apply sustainable operations and maintenance practices in our facilities and utility systems
Offer Dining
Advance Our Shared Future