University of Wisconsin-Madison alumni Marv and Jeff Levy announced on Sept. 11 a $75 million donation to fund a new engineering building on campus, the largest gift the university has received for a single project.
Set to open in 2028, the new building will be named in honor of the Levys’ brother, Phil, who passed away in 2021. Construction will begin in May 2026.
“Our family deeply appreciates the vital role engineering plays in driving innovations that advance our society and contribute to people’s quality and enjoyment of life,” said Marv at a Bascom Hill event announcing the donation. “Through this gift, we can ensure the College of Engineering will remain on the leading edge and educate an ever-expanding number of talented engineers for generations to come.”
In May, the Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget-writing committee slashed $197 million in funding for a UW-Madison engineering building approved by Gov. Tony Evers in the state’s 2023-24 capital budget. This left a gap of $75 million in the total $347 million cost, which has now been funded.
The project stalled for two years after Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, indicated construction of the building was contingent upon reaching an agreement to cut diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs.
UW-Madison had donors lined up, offering millions to pay for the building, but they eventually pulled out due to the GOP-controlled legislature not holding up their end of the deal. The Levys’ lead gift may not have been necessary had the money from the state come in sooner.
In December 2023, the UW System Board of Regents approved a deal to cap hiring for DEI positions for three years and restructure one-third of the system’s 130 DEI positions into general student success positions. In return, the UW System would receive pay raises and new buildings.
The engineering college can accept fewer than 20% of its applicants. The new building can grow undergraduate enrollment to 5,500 students and graduate student enrollment to 2,000 students.
“Virtually everything in our world today has benefitted from an engineer,” Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering Ian Robertson told The Daily Cardinal. “Companies across the globe need engineers to continue to be innovative and competitive and the need for very well educated engineering leaders, like our Badger engineers, is growing.”
Max Heirigs, a mechanical engineering major at UW-Madison, told the Cardinal he is fine with a new building as long as the increase in enrollments comes with an increase in faculty capacity.
In Heirigs’ experience, professors are already pretty overwhelmed, especially in introduction-level classes.
“The new building isn’t going to increase students’ quality of education as [much as investing in] new research tools to help improve professors’ research and students’ involvement in that,” he said.
