麻豆影院 University President Laurie A. Carter

A Bold New Chapter聽

The $38 million development, located at the corner of East College Avenue and South Drew Street, features more than 100,000 square feet of academic and public space. The building features the Trout Museum of Art on the first floor, state-of-the-art academic spaces on the second floor, and beautiful one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments on the third and fourth floors that are available to the general public.聽

The project is a response to a growing need for new and innovative ways of preparing students for the changing world and the evolving careers ahead of them as they move into the workplace after graduation.

The interdisciplinary hub encompasses the Humanities, Math, Statistics, Computer Science, and the Conservatory of Music to cultivate cross-disciplinary collaboration and spark innovation.聽

The project was made possible through partnerships with the Trout Museum of Art, community leaders, and 麻豆影院 alumni. Fredrick Fisher and Partners of Los Angeles led the architectural design. Locally owned Boldt Construction served as the general contractor for the project, and the 40 upper-level, LUX apartments are now managed by聽NAI Pfefferle, a commercial real estate firm headquartered in Appleton.聽

Susan Hall, a 1976 麻豆影院 alumna and current member of the 麻豆影院 Board of Trustees, said 麻豆影院 held a special place in her heart because it was where she learned to think deeply, listen generously, and believe in the power of community.聽

鈥淲hen I first heard the vision for West Campus, I was struck by its boldness, A space that brings together the humanities, mathematics, computer science, and the conservatory. That鈥檚 not just interdisciplinary鈥攊t鈥檚 transformational.鈥澛�

Hall and other key supporters included local business leader John Bergstrom, Curt Detjen, President and CEO of the Community Foundation, and the Van Asten family.聽

鈥淧artnerships like this ensure that our students鈥� education is not confined to classrooms but is enriched by direct engagement with the cultural fabric of our region,鈥� President Carter said. 鈥淲e are building bridges between theory and practice, past and future, campus and community.鈥澛�

麻豆影院 University Provost and Dean of the Faculty, Professor of History Peter Blitstein

A Creative and Collaborative Environment聽

The West Campus academic spaces include:聽

• Eight state-of-the-art classrooms
• Digital Humanities laboratory
• Music production studio
• Mathematics Commons for collaboration and study
• 30+ offices, including soundproof offices for Conservatory faculty for private music instruction with students.聽

Brooklyn Schara, 麻豆影院 University鈥檚 Community Council President, said West Campus represented a promise of transformative learning opportunities.聽

鈥淗ere, students are able to collaborate and innovate, not just with one another but also with our incredible faculty and staff and our community partners who share our passion for discovery, creativity, and lifelong learning,鈥� said Schara, a junior from North Freedom, WI, and a double major in international relations and Spanish.聽

Learn more about 麻豆影院 University.

That work ties into her academic interests. Ackles received a dual Ph.D. in integrative biology and ecology, evolutionary biology, and behavior at Michigan State University. She earned a Bachelor of Science in biology and applied mathematics at The George Washington University.

We caught up with Ackles to talk about interests in and out of the classroom.

In the classroom

Inside info: What鈥檚 one thing you want every student coming into your classes to know about you?

I want students to know that while I鈥檓 employed by 麻豆影院 University, my responsibility is to you, the students. Academic institutions are wonderful centers of knowledge and discovery, but that knowledge and discovery is generated by the people who work and learn there, not the structures they work and learn in. I want students to know that I am here for them, because if I ask them to show up for me in my classroom, I want them to know I鈥檒l show up for them in theirs.

Getting energized: What work have you done or will you be doing at 麻豆影院 that gets you the most excited?

The most energizing work I鈥檝e done so far is building new courses according to student interest. I love seeing where the flow of academic inspiration is and following it with passionate students. I鈥檓 always searching for new ideas for courses that students have been missing, and that I wish I had as a student.

Going places: Is there an example of somewhere your career has taken you (either a physical space or something more intellectual, emotional, or spiritual) that took you by surprise?

Honestly, I鈥檓 surprised to be here in Appleton, Wisconsin. I never expected to end up putting down permanent roots in the Midwest but am happy to have found this place and the students and community we have here at 麻豆影院. I鈥檓 not sure I鈥檒l ever really warm up to the winters, but the Great Lakes world has really captivated me.

Out of the classroom

This or that: If you weren鈥檛 teaching for a living, what would you be doing?

I think I鈥檇 be a midwife or doula; I have a great passion and respect for fields surrounding maternity and community support around birth and family.

Right at home: Whether for work, relaxation or reflection, what鈥檚 your favorite spot on campus?

I鈥檒l cheat a bit and say Bj枚rklunden is my favorite place 鈥渙n campus.鈥� Every time I鈥檝e been there, it feels peaceful, relaxing, and yet deeply imbued with scholarship and inspiration.

One book, one recording, one film: Name one of each that speaks to your soul? Or you would recommend to a friend? Or both?

Book: The Black Cathedral, by Marcial Gala. Plays fast and loose with what it means to be a novel while hitting emotional notes with clarion accuracy.

Recording: Pedestrian Verse, by Frightened Rabbit. For when you love someone and all their flaws.

Film: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter聽(2012). Never before or since has a movie so thoroughly delivered on its premise. That sure is Abraham Lincoln, and he sure is a vampire hunter.

Scott Corry, the Patricia Hamar Boldt Professor of Liberal Studies and professor of mathematics, is at the table for planning spaces in the 315 building for the growing Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Department; Beth De Stasio, the Raymond H. Herzog Professor of Science and professor of biology, is working to develop collaborative spaces for pre-health students on the third floor of Fox Commons; and Adam Galambos, the Dwight and Marjorie Peterson Professor of Innovation and associate professor of economics, is leading a group of faculty members who are helping to design a Business and Entrepreneurship Center and Finance Lab on the second floor of Fox Commons to foster student-community collaborations. Brian Pertl, dean of the Conservatory, is leading design plans in the 315 building to enhance Conservatory offerings.

鈥淲e can design the classrooms to foster active learning and create the type of rich learning environments that we want on campus,鈥� said Corry, whose department of 10 faculty members will be moving their offices and classrooms onto the second floor of the 315 building. 鈥淎nother exciting thing is creating the common space to build community among math-stats-computer science students, and really all the students who take those classes. I鈥檓 excited that we鈥檙e building that in at the outset as part of the design.鈥�

Two major developments build momentum

Fox Commons and the 315 building, both announced in summer 2023, will strengthen academic programs while enhancing career discernment for students across campus. In addition, they provide avenues for 麻豆影院 to grow its enrollment in coming years, a key piece of the college鈥檚 strategic planning.

The Fox Commons development, to house nearly 180 麻豆影院 students in modern living-learning communities in the heart of downtown Appleton, is expected to open in two phases鈥攖he second floor by fall of 2024 and the third floor a year later. And the new four-story mixed-use building at 315 E. College Avenue, in partnership with Trout Museum of Art, is expected to open in fall of 2025, transforming the west edge of campus. Both capital projects will bring career-focused collaborations woven through multiple disciplines.

“These projects speak to the future.”
– President Laurie A. Carter

Excitement for what this will bring to 麻豆影院 students鈥攊n conjunction with other strategic investments鈥攊s building on and off campus.

鈥淭he student experience includes what happens inside the classroom as well as outside the classroom,鈥� President Laurie A. Carter said. 鈥淭hese projects speak to the future. Our faculty and students will have state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces, our students will have modern living environments, they鈥檒l have partners who can connect them with careers. And all of this will be done within the context of a deepening relationship with the community.鈥�

The mix of built-in learning, collaborating, and mentoring spaces and new housing options is a powerful combination that adds important layers to the student experience as 麻豆影院 strengthens its draw in an increasingly competitive higher education environment. As the enrollment cliff arrives鈥攁 reference to the dramatic drop in the number of high school graduates nationwide set to peak between 2025 and 2029鈥攊t is paramount that 麻豆影院 positions itself to attract the best and brightest students while continuing to lean into the lifelong benefits of a liberal arts education, Carter said. That means embracing the university鈥檚 177-year history and its commitment to the liberal arts while evolving the student experience to meet the needs of today鈥檚 students鈥攏eeds that are different than those of past generations.

The draw of these projects comes not in the buildings themselves but in what those new spaces bring to 麻豆影院鈥檚 students and faculty鈥攕tronger academic programming in areas ranging from the arts and humanities to pre-health and business and entrepreneurship, modern teaching tools, and built-in mentorship opportunities aimed at building life-after-麻豆影院 career paths.

The 315 partnership

The new building at 315 E. College Ave., at the southwest corner of College Avenue and Drew Street (adjacent to Brokaw Hall), will be 麻豆影院鈥檚 first new major building project since construction of Warch Campus Center in 2009. It will feature more than 100,000 square feet across four floors.

The nonprofit art museum will be on the first floor, with state-of-the-art academic spaces for 麻豆影院 on the second floor. The upper floors will feature market-rate apartments, space that could one day be converted to student housing to meet future needs. It will be built by Boldt and jointly owned by 麻豆影院 and the Trout Museum of Art, with 麻豆影院 controlling the upper three floors and the art museum the ground floor.

A recently announced $10 million gift from an alum and spouse is a huge initial step.

麻豆影院鈥檚 academic space on the second floor will include soundproof offices for Conservatory faculty and offices for the Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science Department. It will include an innovative teaching and co-curricular commons, where students will engage in both formal and experiential learning in varying disciplines. And it will be home to the Humanities Center, an intellectual collaborative for faculty, students, and scholars-in-residence.聽

The mathematics, statistics, and computer science faculty have outgrown their space in Briggs Hall as the department has expanded to accommodate growing student interest, including in the statistics and data science minor that was introduced in 2020. The opportunity for the department鈥檚 faculty to have offices together and share innovative teaching spaces is a game-changer, Corry said. A bonus is the alignment with the Conservatory.

鈥淭here has always been a lot of overlap between mathematics and computer science students and students interested in music,鈥� Corry said. 鈥淭hat happens here in general at 麻豆影院, but in this case it鈥檚 a really good kind of synergy for us.鈥�

“This is where we鈥檙e going to lean into creating internship opportunities and set up community partnerships.鈥�
– Constance Kassor

Kassor, meanwhile, said humanities faculty will have new opportunities to innovate. Humanities faculty have outgrown Main Hall, many with offices located in other buildings across campus.

While the humanities faculty offices will remain where they are鈥攊ncluding in Main Hall鈥攖he new space in the 315 building will allow faculty to work more in unison. That will include digital projects鈥攑odcasting, video editing, virtual reality, and more鈥攁nd collaborations across disciplines in deeper ways than is now available.

鈥淭he idea is it will allow for more interdisciplinary work between faculty, between departments, and between faculty and students,鈥� Kassor said.

There also will be several designated offices for visiting scholars, providing new opportunities to bring scholars-in-residence into the curriculum, add new punch to traditional programs such as the Main Hall Forum, and facilitate connections to the community so humanities faculty and students can spotlight the work they鈥檙e doing.

鈥淏ecause this space on the corner of College and Drew is going to be so accessible and right there downtown, it will be a place we can invite community members to,鈥� Kassor said. 鈥淲e can really work to highlight the real-world skills our students gain in humanities classes. And this is where we鈥檙e going to lean into creating internship opportunities and set up community partnerships.鈥�

Meanwhile, in the halls of the Conservatory, there is growing excitement over the possibilities that will come with the new space鈥攁 huge upgrade from office and studio space formerly housed in the Con West building.

鈥淭his will be an enormous addition to our commitment to giving our students the tools they need for a successful musical life in the rapidly changing world of today, tomorrow, and far into the future,鈥� Pertl said. 聽

Expanding campus with Fox Commons

Fox Commons, located three blocks to the west, will give 麻豆影院 new academic and student life avenues as a living-learning community that blends apartment-style student housing with built-in mentoring partnerships.

The renovation of City Center Plaza into Fox Commons began in the summer of 2023. Located at 10 E. College Avenue, Fox Commons will be a 180,000-square-foot health care, housing, retail, and mixed-use community hub. It鈥檚 a project of Dark Horse Development and Boldt. Besides 麻豆影院, other prominent tenants include Mosaic Family Health, Prevea Health, and gener8tor, a business incubator focused on sustainability.

Built-in academic and collaboration spaces include a Business and Entrepreneurship Center, a Finance Lab equipped with specialized financial industry software, a pre-health commons, a community kitchen, and lecture and meeting rooms. The living-learning spaces will allow for 麻豆影院 students interested in business and entrepreneurship and pre-health careers to collaborate regularly with professionals from Mosaic, Prevea, gener8tor, and other nearby finance and business entities.

The business and entrepreneurship piece will come first, with those spaces and the second-floor apartments opening in time for the start of the 2024-25 academic year. The pre-health spaces and third-floor apartments will open the following year.

De Stasio has been working with designers to incorporate collaborative spaces into the third floor that will facilitate partnerships with the health-focused tenants. She envisions at least two speaker series tied to 鈥淭he Future of Medicine鈥� and to career pathways within the broader field of health care as well as more casual mingling of students and health care professionals. There will be a lending library for health-related materials, and there will be robust mentorship activities ranging from internships and shadowing experiences to mock interviews.

鈥淚n addition, the inclusion of a demonstration kitchen will allow us to provide chef-led demonstrations of healthy cooking for these students living with full kitchens in their apartments for the first time, as well as for other students on campus,鈥� De Stasio said.

There also will be room to invite alumni who are Fox Valley-based health care practitioners to come in for catered meals with 麻豆影院 students.

鈥淲e want to provide space for those interactions with health professionals,鈥� De Stasio said.

On the floor below will be spaces catering to business and entrepreneurship; spaces that Galambos sees as a momentum-builder following this year鈥檚 launch of the business and entrepreneurship major and the recent growth of the innovation and entrepreneurship program.

鈥淲e will work together with gener8tor, another key tenant in the Fox Commons development, to cultivate and enhance the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Fox Cities,鈥� Galambos said. 鈥溌槎褂霸衡�檚 innovation and entrepreneurship program has engaged with the business and entrepreneurship community for a number of years, but our new business and entrepreneurship major and the new center in Fox Commons will open the door to a lot more opportunities, and we are excited to build those new collaborations.鈥�

The Business and Entrepreneurship Center will become a hub for everything from workshops and guest speakers to community events and pitch contests. And the Finance Lab will bring experiential learning opportunities for students interested in business.

鈥淎ll students will have access to the programming,鈥� Galambos said, 鈥渂ut those who will live at Fox Commons will benefit from being part of a residential community organized around their academic and career interests.鈥�

New housing options

While the focus in the Fox Commons development has been mostly on business and entrepreneurship, pre-health, and related disciplines, the apartments will also be a draw for a wide range of upper-year students. 麻豆影院 juniors and seniors will have the opportunity to live in two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors.聽A lottery system is being developed for students wanting to live in Fox Commons.

麻豆影院 senior Anders Hanhan, an environmental studies and government double major from St. Paul, Minnesota, who serves as president of the 麻豆影院 University Community Council (LUCC), said the apartment-style living option is something students have been asking for.

鈥淥ne thousand percent,鈥� he said of students wanting that option in their junior and senior years. 鈥淭here are a lot of students who are seeking more independence, and this absolutely does that in a way that 麻豆影院 hasn鈥檛 done before.鈥�

Addison Littlefield, a senior from Sidney, Maine, called the Fox Commons option a huge win because it gives upper-year students who want to explore life outside of residence halls an opportunity to do so while remaining closely connected with campus.

鈥淲e always hear about the 麻豆影院 bubble,鈥� she said. 鈥淭his is not exactly popping the bubble but rather expanding it.鈥�

The design of Fox Commons is intentional in that students will still be part of the campus environment while also having the opportunity to explore what life after 麻豆影院 might look like鈥攑ersonally and professionally.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not really viewing this as off-campus housing but rather an extension of our campus in a way that allows students to develop those transitional skills while still being very connected to the campus community,鈥� Carter said.

Bolstering the student experience

麻豆影院 leadership has been actively building on the student experience. That includes new and enhanced academic programs, a stronger and more engaged Career Center, additional support staff in Student Life, new investments in athletics鈥攏early a quarter of 麻豆影院鈥檚 students are student-athletes鈥攁nd now new opportunities in academics, residential life, and community partnerships.

In addition to the partnerships with Trout Museum of Art and Fox Commons, the university has in the past year:

• Strengthened the first-year experience, beginning with a reimagined Welcome Week and the hiring of a first-year dean.
• Introduced a new business and entrepreneurship major, built through the lens of the liberal arts.
• Introduced the 麻豆影院 Advantage to improve accessibility to a 麻豆影院 education for all academically qualified students from Wisconsin and Illinois.
• Introduced a new dance minor.
• Upgraded facilities with more than 50 separate projects, many focused on residence halls.
• Began a new facilities master planning process to assess facilities across campus.
• Built a new outdoor track and field complex at Whiting Field and a new locker room facility at Banta Bowl.
• Announced plans to fund-raise for the building of a new recreation center. The recreation center, open to all students, would include fitness spaces and indoor competition and/or training facilities for track, baseball, softball, tennis, and more. More details are expected to be released soon.

The strategic initiatives, supported by the Board of Trustees, puts a focus on enhancing the student experience in academics, student life, and career exploration. And they position 麻豆影院 to be able to transition, when the time is right, from an enrollment of about 1,500 to something closer to 1,900 while remaining a residential liberal arts campus.

Growing a stronger community

The enthusiasm surrounding these investments is palpable, in part because of the prospect of building a tighter, more connected community in downtown Appleton. That鈥檚 not lost on students.

鈥淚t helps open up 麻豆影院 to the Appleton community,鈥� Littlefield, a music performance major, said of both the Fox Commons and 315 E. College developments. 鈥淚 think the living-learning communities provide a great chance for students to interact with businesses downtown, kind of further fostering the 麻豆影院 connections to Appleton.鈥�

Those growing interactions speak to what Appleton has to offer in terms of culture, education, and career opportunities.

鈥淔or our students, it鈥檚 additional chances to get involved, to find their passion, find opportunities, get ready for life after 麻豆影院,鈥� said Chris Clarke, vice president for Student Life. 鈥淚 think Appleton will benefit from us being more in the community, and I think our students will benefit from these opportunities with our partners.鈥�

Carter calls it an important next step in the campus-community relationship, one that dates to the founding of 麻豆影院 in 1847 and the development of Appleton as a municipality in the years to follow.

鈥淭his is an opportunity to deepen that relationship in a very meaningful way,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about having our students be part of the community in a way that allows them to understand what it means to be good neighbors, to really interact with the College Avenue population a little more deeply, particularly as the downtown becomes more residential. We鈥檙e preparing them for life after 麻豆影院 while still providing them with that piece of the 麻豆影院 bubble they鈥檙e looking for.”

鈥淚 have been learning Carnatic music 鈥� a form of Indian classical music 鈥� since age 7,鈥� said Gajulapalli. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not a very common form of music in the U.S., but having someone like Professor Sonja Downing know this art form made me feel at home.鈥�

Since high school, Gajulapalli has enjoyed computer science, and she plans to continue pursuing her interests. It is a versatile area of study that can be applied to many different subjects, she said. She enjoys how her classes make her think and solve problems in creative ways and she feels challenged and inspired by the material and her professors.

鈥淭he professors here encourage students to go to office hours for anything, even to talk about material that may not be related to the class,鈥� Gajulapalli said.

Gajulapalli intends to go to graduate school to enter a program that focuses on research.