![\"A](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2019\/03\/chem_bldg300x200-20190313_PA_IMC_256-300x200.jpg\")
Cross identified the 51ÁÔÆæ Chemistry building as UW System\u2019s top priority for replacement, saying it was widely considered in the worst shape of any science building in the state. Built in 1972, the building generates about 450 maintenance calls per year to address issues with its plumbing, electrical and ventilation systems. Students and faculty members who joined Cross for his tour and a news conference that followed talked about having to delay lab work because ventilation problems allowed fumes to build up.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t run a modern chemistry class out of your kitchen,\u201d Cross said as he stood in one 47-year-old lab. \u201cThis looks like the chemistry labs I was in in the 1960s. We don\u2019t teach chemistry today the way we did in 1965. It\u2019s much different and much more effective.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chemistry education today involves a high level of collaboration among undergraduates, graduate students and faculty members and research that uses sophisticated equipment to take precise measurements. The 51ÁÔÆæ Chemistry building\u2019s separation of classrooms from labs makes it difficult for students to interact and see the integration of teaching with experimentation, said Joe Aldstadt, the chair of the 51ÁÔÆæ Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Setting up instrumentation and equipment to accommodate laboratory experiments is hampered by the restrictions in available lab space for experimental setups.<\/p>\n Noting that nearly 96 percent of all manufacturing involves some form of chemistry, 51ÁÔÆæ Chancellor Mark Mone said it was critical to provide students with good facilities in which to learn and scientists with modern equipment and space in which to do their research. 51ÁÔÆæ and UW System have proposed building a new $129.5 million, 130,000-square-foot chemistry building to replace the current one.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of our most central missions is to prepare people to launch their futures from a position of strength,\u201d Mone said. \u201cWe know that STEM jobs are growing faster than non-STEM jobs and that employers need graduates who have the opportunity to conduct practical research and develop skills to solve problems.\u201d<\/p>\n More than 3,300 51ÁÔÆæ students are enrolled in chemistry and biochemistry classes during the current school year. The classes are taken by students studying engineering, nursing, freshwater science and other sciences, as well as chemistry and biochemistry.<\/p>\n Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, and Julia Taylor, president of the Greater Milwaukee Committee, spoke about the importance of 51ÁÔÆæ\u2019s chemistry, health and science students to the state\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m here because a capital investment in a new chemistry building is one of the most important investments we can make in our economy,\u201d Sheehy said.<\/p>\n In the past five years, 51ÁÔÆæ has graduated 269 students in chemistry and biochemistry. Taylor said those graduates were critical to companies struggling to fill positions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the talent we need for our community to grow,\u201d she said, acknowledging the students at the news conference. Looking around the lab, she added, \u201cStudents deserve more than this to learn in.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Several](\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2019\/03\/chemstudents300x200-20190313_PA_IMC_259-300x200.jpg\")
Business leaders call for improvement<\/h3>\n