Students living the suite life - University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Students living the suite life - University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
Students living the suite life - University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point
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Campus News<br />
10<br />
<strong>Students</strong> now <strong>living</strong> <strong>the</strong><br />
<strong>suite</strong> <strong>life</strong> at UWSP<br />
For <strong>the</strong> first time in UWSP history, students are staying in four-bedroom <strong>suite</strong> apartments<br />
as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Residential Living program on campus.<br />
The Suites @201 Reserve, UWSP’s first new residence hall in more than 40 years,<br />
welcomed its upperclassman residents this fall after many years <strong>of</strong> planning and a year<br />
and a half <strong>of</strong> construction.<br />
The opening was celebrated in an <strong>of</strong>ficial ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday, Oct. 7. Tours<br />
were <strong>of</strong>fered as part <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Homecoming festivities.<br />
“This is a great opportunity for our upperclassmen to have apartment-style <strong>living</strong> and<br />
still maintain <strong>the</strong> benefits <strong>of</strong> <strong>living</strong> on campus,” said Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs<br />
Al Thompson. “They get <strong>the</strong> best <strong>of</strong> two worlds.”<br />
The $25.5 million-dollar project was built to <strong>the</strong> highest green building and performance<br />
measures, fitting with UWSP’s focus on sustainability. Although it was built to <strong>the</strong><br />
minimum <strong>of</strong> a LEED Silver certification, it may qualify for a Gold Rating, which will be<br />
decided in December.<br />
The five-story, two-elevator building, constructed at <strong>the</strong> site <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> former Hyer Hall, will<br />
house about 328 residents in 82, four-bedroom <strong>suite</strong>s and one hall director apartment. Five<br />
<strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>suite</strong>s, one on each floor, include accommodations for community advisers (CA)<br />
that <strong>of</strong>fer a private corridor entrance into <strong>the</strong> CA’s room.<br />
The <strong>suite</strong>s are completely furnished with a full kitchen, three-compartment bathroom<br />
(sink, shower, toilet), a <strong>living</strong> room and four bedrooms. In addition to <strong>the</strong> <strong>suite</strong>s, <strong>the</strong> hall<br />
includes common areas and laundry facilities.<br />
UWSP’s strategic plan set in motion<br />
UWSP has created a plan that will guide its mission, vision, values and goals for <strong>the</strong> future.<br />
The university’s strategic plan was created under <strong>the</strong> direction <strong>of</strong> Chancellor Bernie<br />
Patterson, with <strong>the</strong> input <strong>of</strong> a Strategic Planning Steering Committee and more than 200<br />
UWSP students, staff and faculty members who worked on task forces to develop strategic<br />
<strong>the</strong>mes, goals and action steps.<br />
Work on <strong>the</strong> plan began in <strong>the</strong> fall <strong>of</strong> 2010 and was completed in May 2011. The plan<br />
includes four areas in which UWSP will focus, with each carrying initiatives on which <strong>the</strong><br />
action steps are based:<br />
• Advance Learning<br />
- Create a culture <strong>of</strong> student success<br />
- Increase opportunities for learning<br />
- Cultivate an inclusive and ecologically<br />
responsible world view among all<br />
constituents<br />
• Enhance Living<br />
- Create and enhance an environment for all<br />
that is conducive to learning and individual<br />
development<br />
- Provide a campus culture that encourages<br />
engagement, responsibility, respect and<br />
inclusivity<br />
- Develop sustainable relationships between<br />
<strong>the</strong> university and its partners—local, state,<br />
regional, national and global<br />
• Develop and Leverage Resources<br />
- Facilitate and encourage access to university<br />
resources through development <strong>of</strong><br />
long-term partnerships<br />
- Make <strong>the</strong> most effective use <strong>of</strong> human and<br />
physical resources<br />
- Evaluate university operations,<br />
policies and culture to encourage and<br />
support collaboration, innovation and<br />
entrepreneurship<br />
• Respect and Advance Our Legacy<br />
- Engage and expand our community<br />
through outreach and collaboration<br />
- Honor and perpetuate our institutional<br />
story<br />
For more on <strong>the</strong> strategic plan, including <strong>the</strong> action<br />
steps that follow <strong>the</strong>se four areas and initiatives, go<br />
to www.uwsp.edu/strategicplan.<br />
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