The University of Wisconsin-Madison has opened a $267 million, 343,000-square-foot facility to house its School of Computer, Data and Information Sciences (CDIS).
The Wisconsin State Journal reports that Morgridge Hall is UW-Madison's largest privately funded building and puts all the disciplines seeing the most growth at the university under one roof.
Alumni John and Tashia Morgridge donated $140 million to the project.
UW-Madison created CDIS in 2019. Construction on the building, intended to serve as the program's hub, started in 2021.
The school has become one of the most popular among new students in recent years. CDIS has seen a 75% increase in enrollment since it was created; it now totals over 6,300 students.
Morgridge Hall brings together UW-Madison's departments of computer science, statistics, and the Information School as well as biostatistics and medical informatics. Now that all of the programs are in one facility, establishing a college centered on computing and the study of artificial intelligence is under strong consideration.
Shannon Timm, CDIS director of advancement, said classroom capacity has more than doubled with the addition of Morgridge Hall.
The seven-floor, 13-classroom building boasts a large airy atrium on the first floor, called the "Heart." A wall in the atrium on the first floor is covered in leafy green plants, and next to that, there's a cafe and study spaces.
The "Hello, World!" Auditorium, which seats 320 students, is also on the first floor. Another glass-walled classroom on the first floor can fit 150 students.
The second floor houses student commons, a learning center and advising spaces. Floors three through seven have research labs, classrooms and faculty offices.
The building also houses the Data Science Institute and the Center for High Throughput Computing.
