SciTech will be a transformational facility, prominently located and easily accessible on the UW-River Falls campus, where students from a wide range of majors will engage in immersive high-impact learning experiences in biology, chemistry, physics and psychological sciences.

SciTech will also support meaningful collaborations with regional and Wisconsin businesses, meeting industry demands for talent and innovation in high growth scientific and research-related industries.

In addition to providing UWRF faculty and students with a transformational teaching and learning environment, SciTech is being built with business and industry leaders and entrepreneurs foremost in mind. Employers will be able to build their talent pipeline in the University and Business Collaboration Center, where they’ll interact with students and faculty through internships, collaborative research projects, presentations, strategic discussions, product design and joint professorships.

The center will actively engage business and community partners in discovery, innovation and talent development at UW-River Falls. It will provide entrepreneurs and businesses access to spaces for making, discovering and cooperating in STEM fields and beyond, bringing together industry and university resources to support new business expansion and economic growth in the rapidly growing St. Croix Valley region.

The state of Wisconsin has provided $111.73 of the $116.73 million needed to complete SciTech. Alumni entrepreneurs Jeff and Kristi Cernohous, ’93, have generously presented a $1 million lead gift in support of the project and UWRF will work to raise the remaining funding through the Campaign to Support SciTech.

If you’d like to give an outright gift in support of SciTech, go to: https://www.uwrf.edu/give/SciTech.cfm. If you are interested in exploring naming opportunities and become a member of SciTech’s Circles of Support, please contact the UWRF Office of University Advancement and one of our advancement officers:

Rick Foy, Assistant Chancellor of University Advancement, 715-425-4291 or richard.foy@uwrf.edu

Kellie Burrows, Advancement Officer, 715-425-4427 or kellie.burrows@uwrf.edu

Julie Stucky, Advancement Officer, 715-425-4647 or julie.stucky@uwrf.edu

Demolition of Hagestad Hall is expected to commence in spring/summer of 2023. SciTech construction will start in September 2023 and continue through summer of 2025. Technology, furniture and lab equipment will be installed in fall 2025. Target date for project completion, grand opening and inaugural classes is January 2026.  

SciTech will be centrally and prominently located on the UWRF campus on the site of the current Hagestad Hall, the former student center.