Contact: Rep. Katrina Shankland
June 8, 2021 (608) 267-9649
Rep. Shankland: Celebrates UWSP Albertson Hall Approval by Joint Finance Committee
MADISON – Today, during an executive session on portions of the 2021-23 state budget, the Joint Finance Committee voted to approve $96 million in state funds to replace Albertson Hall on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point campus. When the committee is finished reviewing and voting on it, the state budget bill will advance to the State Assembly and State Senate for final approval before heading to the governor’s desk.
Rep. Katrina Shankland (D- Stevens Point) issued the following statement in response:
“Today was nearly a decade in the making. Albertson Hall has been in need of urgent attention for years now, and I have been advocating for it for my entire time in the State Legislature. Given the public safety issues related to this building and its urgent need to be replaced, I am pleased that the Joint Finance Committee voted to provide the necessary funding for its replacement. Delaying this project any further would have been a massive disservice to the students, faculty, and staff who study and work there and worry every day about the safety and integrity of the building. I am thrilled that they will no longer be left wondering how to make do with a steadily worsening and hazardous building, and instead get to focus on the path forward.”
“Albertson Hall is UW-Stevens Point’s only university library, but it’s so much more than just that. It houses the Archives, Disability and Assistive Technology Center, Information Technology, Academic and Career Advising Center, Tutoring Learning Center, the University Honors Program, the Office of International Programs, and the Teaching and Learning Center. It hosts vital servers that help campus and community partners stay connected to reliable Internet. It is also an officially designated depository of U.S. government and state of Wisconsin records, with a collection of more than 700,000 items valued at over $100 million. I appreciate the continued advocacy of students, campus and community leaders to ensure this building project is approved. Additionally, I’m grateful to Governor Evers for first recommending this project in his capital budget. While the state budget still has a ways to go before final approval, this is a win, not just for UW-Stevens Point, but for our whole community.”
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