Regent approves UWO academic restructuring, Polk Library transformation

September 9, 2024

OSHKOSH – The Universities of Wisconsin Board of Regents has approved the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (UWO) academic restructuring and a $137.5 million renovation-and-rebuild of UWO’s nearly 60-year-old Polk Library.

The project is part of the regents’ 2025-27 state biennial budget capital budget requests.

UWO Chancellor Andy Leavitt said the university is ready to work hard to ensure the Polk project earns the legislature’s and governor’s support. 

In the last half-century, UWO has only added one entirely new free-standing academic building to its campus.

A hybrid renovation-and-new-construction plan will transform Polk – modernizing the current building’s 1967 wing through renovation and demolishing and rebuilding the complex’s north wing. 

“The Polk Learning Commons plan reminds us that as libraries transform in shape and usage, they remain the beating heart of any university – havens for learning, collaboration and research,” Leavitt said. 

The revitalized Polk Learning Commons will total 163,000 square feet – a footprint smaller than the existing Polk. 

Its features and hybrid design approach are responsive to the preferences of its learners and reflective of sustainability goals within the UWO2030 Strategic Plan.

UWO’s academic restructuring work – which Leavitt said aims to save UWO $1.75 million in administrative costs – has been well underway, but required the endorsement of the regents.

The new UWO academic model will shift the institution from four to three colleges and within a new structure containing six new “schools.”

The new colleges and their respective new schools are:

• The College of Business, Arts & Communication, home to the School of Business and the School of Media, Arts & Communication
• The College of Public Affairs & Education, home to the School of Public Affairs & Global Engagement and School of Education & Human Services
• The College of Nursing, Health Professions & STEM, home to the School of Science