Following Chancellor Blank’s designation of him as project lead, UW–Madison Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Laurent Heller has been meeting with representatives of building donors regarding the status of the project.

As a result of those conversations and following discussions with officials from the Wisconsin Department of Administration and UW System, a third-party peer review will be conducted as quickly as possible to determine if the project can proceed as currently designed and sequenced. This review will inform next steps on the project, including sequencing of various phases and coordination of construction, to minimize risk and identify options to bring this project to completion as soon as possible. It will also help inform all the parties involved as to whether additional funding, beyond the currently estimated $11.6M budget shortfall, will be required to complete the project.

UW–Madison is committed to working with industry and other partners on finding solutions to the challenges around this project. The results of the third-party review will be shared with stakeholders as soon as possible.