Happy Valentines Day: Improving the Quality of Human Life

Improving the Quality of Human Life. Honestly I've written and erased so many things in this particular entry because I can't fully express the impact the 100 Women initiative has had on the building project, and on me.

A few years ago I had the pleasure of videotaping interviews with some of our honorees - each one came to participate in the project from very different paths. Jean Alford Meyers (MS’47 Home Economics) husband and the couple’s five children joined together to honor her impact on her community. In just one example of how she lives the mission, Jean become a volunteer EMT for her local community later in life because she saw an unmet need. Never one to stand on the sidelines Jean jumped right in, improving the quality of human life.

Mary Kunz Berge (B.S. Home Economics ‘61), was the first 100 Women honoree. I first met Mary when she and husband Paul agreed to chair the School's Centennial Celebration - a huge undertaking considering she had just co-chaired the Sesquicentennial Celebration for UW-Madison. Mary had the brilliant vision to create a campaign that would "bring Human Ecology alumni home again", thus providing the building blocks for a capital campaign.

Being a mentor is what drives Sharon Scanlan (BS ‘70, Textiles and Clothing), retired senior vice president of Sears. Sharon was appointed leader of the world’s largest national appliance/electronics repair and installation division of Sears. Her appointment as the first women in the history of the company to hold such a position, motivated her to establish and lead the Sear’s Women’s Network.

The 100 Women initiative will have a special home in the new building. Prominently installed on the concourse of the third floor of the addition, the exhibit was designed by the very talented team at ZD Studio which includes Human Ecology alums Caroline Altfeather and Melanie Kranz, will delight and inspire each of us to "Improve the Quality of Human Life".

The Crates of Wrath

I am really close to never having to use this photo or that line again...really close.

In preparation for the relocation back to 1300 Linden Drive, campus has scheduled a walk-through of our spaces for moving companies interested in bidding on our project. Erin Hamilton (Human Ecology) has been working closely with Rob Shively, campus move director, to prepare the schedule and materials needed to manage our move – you may recall that it was Rob and Erin who prepared for our moves into seven locations around campus more than two and a half years ago.

Wow, did I just write that?

The walk through is scheduled for:

Tuesday, February 14

The group will begin at Chris Siecks project at 8:00 am, then roll forward to see the Preschool, Mechanical Engineering, MSC, third floor Middleton, Henry Mall, ground level, first and second floor of Sterling. Rob and Erin are leading the moving reps through these areas and buildings – and will keep the interruptions to a minimum. There is no action you need to take except to let your staff know this is happening.

Please let me know if you have questions.

Thanks-
zwick

A welcome sight

The program plan for the building calls for a separate and secure access point in the parking garage for parents and customers of the preschool lab. The project team challenged the architects to create a lobby in the parking garage that would "speak" to children - it should be interesting, fun and inviting. Boy did they deliver - the results will blow you away. Affectionately called the "peanut" (because on the drawings and construction documents it is actually shaped like a circus peanut) the preschool lobby has curved walls, energy efficient LED lighting and features to make the parking garage more friendly.

I walked through the parking garage this morning and holy cats, the lighting is the most SPECTACULAR thing I've seen in any building on this campus, let alone in a parking garage!

Who would have imagined the parking garage as an opportunity for interest?

As you plan to order business cards...

...change of address forms, perhaps letterhead or update websites, the official name and address of the building is as follows:

Nancy Nicholas Hall
1300 Linden Drive
Madison, WI 53706

In the next two weeks the Dean will confirm to each department, project and unit their space assignments including office numbers.

And please don't forget to update your payroll information via "My-UW" or contact Ethel in Payroll and Benefits - efherbrand@wisc.edu if you have questions.

Reservations Suggested

My colleague Sue Bruns and I were just talking about how much we both loved the tv show "Seinfeld" - memorable episodes include The Puffy Shirt, The Bubble Boy, The Junior Mint and who could forget The Bet.

Remember The Chinese Restaurant? Elaine, Jerry and George wait forever for a table in a restaurant because they didn't have a reservation.

We have more than 22 conference rooms in our new building that can accommodate meetings of just 2 people, up to Plenary Hall which holds more than 75. If you are interested in reserving a room in the new building (starting in mid-June) please send your request to:

roomrequest@mail.sohe.wisc.edu

Include the number of people, date, start time/end time for your meeting and we will work with you to schedule your meeting.

Okay, so the Seinfeld reference may be a stretch...but I wanted to get your attention - with this many rooms in our building coordination is key.

Speaking of keys - did you know all our instructional spaces including the computer labs will be card access? And the graduate student lounge is card access?

This is gonna be great.

A hope for the future

New years is all about celebrations, perhaps a libation or two, and a leaving last year behind. One tradition my family and friends have is at midnight we burn the past year's calendar. As the ashes waft away we let go of the worries, appointments, angst and bad mojo from the past year. It's also a chance to chuckle over the annual Dad's camping trip, summer vacation in Door County with dear, dear friends and remind my husband this year we will be married 21 years. It is our way of making a new start each year.

The new building for the School of Human Ecology is in many ways a new and fresh start. Rooms are clean, carpets are new and the tile is polished to a bright sheen. There are no marks to cover, no leaking ceilings in the Textile Collection and no stains to clean. A new crop of freshmen will start this fall and their experience will only be in the new building.

Tucked quietly away in a secret location is a lucky talisman - the shovel given to Dean Douthitt by the board of visitors in 2004 to mark the Centennial and start the public phase of the building campaign. For more than seven years Robin has been toting this shovel to meetings and events, gathering signatures from donors, friends and allies. It reads like a "who's who." The initial thought was the shovel should be used at groundbreaking but there were more friends who had to sign it with inspiring wishes - it was hard to stop the momentum.

The shovel has been sealed up somewhere in the building and when the School is ready for another expansion, perhaps this artifact will be discovered.

There are only two people who know where it lives - Eric Plumer of JP Cullen (our contractor who personally placed it) and me. Eric is solid as a rock - he'll never tell. And there aren't enough cosmos in the world to make me talk.

But please, if anyone wants to try just give me a call -

Cheers!

Not Everyone Hopes for a White Christmas

Have you seen the classic movie, "White Christmas" with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney? I watch this every year, root for snow to come to the Inn in Vermont (or it will fall into bankruptcy) and adore the finale when they all sing "White Christmas."

What does this have to do with the building? The fact we don't yet have snow is a boon for the project! Because the earth is not frozen, the contractors could lay sod and push forward on the landscape plans. Take a look at this photo taken yesterday-no this isn't air-brushed, this is real.

Happy holidays to you, and best wishes for the new year!

Peace-

Zwick

Christopher Columbus got it wrong

The Dean of Continuing Studies, Jeff Russell, joined Dean Douthitt for a behind the scenes tour of the new building. Dean Russell (in the red hardhat) is a faculty member in the College of Engineering, who have been superb hosts while Human Ecology is in relocation.

Joining Deans Douthitt and Russell were members of the technology design team, Pro Audio (white hardhats). The first stop on the tour was the Wisconsin Idea Room, a large video conference room capable of seating up to 20 people. Adjacent to the room is a catering kitchen and a small break-out meeting room.

The group toured Collaborative Learning Hall, located on the second floor of the addition. This space has a flat floor and will support strong connections between students and instructors, as well as student to student, with multiple LCD panels and screens. This room can set up to 144 in groups of 8.

These spaces - and more - are programmed with flexible furniture and robust technology to serve multiple methods of teaching and learning. To think that instructors do not have to be limited to what speaker can be in Madison on a given day gives me chills. Imagine delivering a lecture from Ghana, or bringing in a policy expert in Washington to a morning class in Madison, real time.

The world is flat because technology removed the last barrier.

For more information how to take advantage of these resources for teaching and engagement activities, please contact Associate Dean Clif Barber or Director of Technology Services John Hilgers.

Schedule for Moving Home

Over the past year all of our stakeholders have talked a great deal about the overall timeline and specific schedules needed for project completion—construction schedule, relocation schedule, schedule for furniture, and others. Along with team members Roberto Rengel and Rose Barroilhet, I attend the bi-weekly construction progress meetings so we can keep Human Ecology-specific deliverables on task and coordinate with JP Cullen. At these meetings schedule details are hammered out with the contractor for testing and balancing, when the building is to be cleaned, coordination with campus for fiber optics, and so on.

A major milestone is "substantial completion," the point in the project where the state (remember it's the state, not the campus, that holds the contract) in consultation with the campus, determines that the contractor is just about —but not quite—finished. The architect and campus develop a "punch list" of items that the contractor is still required to complete, but the progress of preparing to occupy the building may continue to move forward.

The time from substantial completion until the start of furniture delivery is busy and many tasks are executed. The internal systems (heating, ventilating, etc.) are tested and balanced, punch list items and technology interface with equipment continues, and many, many more details are confirmed. Furniture delivery—a massive undertaking coordinated and led by campus—won't begin until after this period of testing is complete. And having seen the draft schedule for furniture delivery and installation, I can verify this is a complex plan involving access to the Human Ecology loading dock, coordinating which vendors have access to the building elevators and for how long, and when the semi-trucks are allowed on campus.

The bottom line? The academic departments (CS, DS, HDFS, and IS) will be the first to move into the new building starting May 21, 2012, which means faculty, instructional spaces and the departments must be packed and ready to go.

The balance of Human Ecology units including Centers, administration and projects will immediately follow - keep checking this blog for information and updates.