The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire’s newest academic building is now known as Riverside Science Center after approval Thursday by the UW System Board of Regents.
The state-of-the-art, five-story structure along the Chippewa River will become the largest facility among regional comprehensives within the Universities of Wisconsin when it opens for the fall semester in 2027. It will serve as a catalyst for innovation through research, teaching and collaboration.
“The Riverside Science Center is a testament to extraordinary collaboration and innovation between the university and its community partners, and it will be a tremendous asset for UW-Eau Claire and the region for decades to come,” Chancellor Edwin Martini says. “Generations of Blugolds will have the opportunity to work alongside fellow students, faculty and community collaborators to discover new knowledge and find ways to improve the world around them.”
Chancellor Edwin Martini
Initially called the Science and Health Sciences Building when the project broke ground in 2024, a campus naming committee recently considered more than 100 suggestions for the new building and shared six favorites through a public survey in early 2026. From there, the committee recommended three names to then-Interim Chancellor Michael J. Carney, who chose Riverside Science Center in March.
Science building beam raising
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Dr. Doug Dunham, interim director of strategic partnerships and program development, chaired the eight-person naming committee. He says it became clear quickly that Riverside was a popular name, but selecting the adjoining words was difficult.
“We use lots of different words, science, innovation, those types of things,” Dunham says. “Some people liked these a lot and others didn’t like them at all. What we were trying to do is figure out, what’s a good balance.”
Dr. Doug Dunham, interim director of strategic partnerships and program development
With disciplines ranging from anthropology to engineering to nursing utilizing the building, Dunham says encapsulating the 330,000-square-foot facility’s functions in one name was too challenging. That’s part of the reason the committee settled on a more generic title.
“What we do in the building will speak for itself,” says Dunham, who also instructs materials science and biomedical engineering. “I think we ended up with something that will stand the test of time.”
Dunham says the committee was cognizant of how the building may be nicknamed or abbreviated. The group agreed the facility should not be named after a person, but Dunham says that remains a possibility in the future.
Among the amenities of the new center are state-of-the-art learning facilities, including hands-on labs for student learning, prototyping and fabrication and nursing simulations. Mayo Clinic Health System will utilize about 10,000 square feet of research, instructional, office and meeting space as part of its $13.7 million contribution to the project.
Building concepts
The Riverside Science Center will feature several student spaces overlooking the Chippewa River to inspire interaction and innovation. Those areas, along with a “science on display” design concept with large interior windows will showcase active research. The main entrance will feature an engaging public display, Dunham says.
Long-standing Eau Claire community resources like the James Newman Clark Bird Museum, L.E. Phillips Planetarium, Observatory, Materials Science and Engineering Center and Blugold Center for High Performance Computing will each have a new home inside the facility.
Riverside Science Center will replace Phillips Hall, which opened in 1964 and no longer meets the needs of students. Dunham says items will start to move from the old facility into the new one in February, then ramp up after the spring semester finishes and LEED certification is achieved.
