Wisconsin State Director Frank Frassetto announced today that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $46 million to improve critical community facilities to benefit more than 363,000 rural residents in 16 states.
“We are excited to partner with Lakeland University in the expansion of their main campus,” Frassetto said. “This investment will help Lakeland set the bar for higher education by providing state of the art student education facilities that will support a robust pipeline of talent for local businesses and communities to enhance economic prosperity and quality of life in rural east central Wisconsin.”
In Sheboygan County, Wis., Lakeland University will use a $29 million loan to construct two new residence halls. The University is open to the public and the dormitories are used for public camps and educational housing when school is not in session. The new residence halls will accommodate 394 beds consisting of double and single units. Forty-eight units will be designed to accommodate triple occupancy when the University’s enrollment growth reaches anticipated targets. The proposed dorms will replace five different dorms constructed in the 1950’s-60’s that have significant deficiencies, were determined to be more costly to renovate per bed and did not address future needs of the University. Each hall will provide resident support functions including front desk area, vending, lounge spaces, kitchenettes, study rooms, gender-neutral bathrooms, laundry facilities, recycling centers, bottle filling station and more. Each building will also have a basement to provide resident storage space and unfinished square footage for the ability to build out additional resident program space in the future.
The residence hall project’s timing and this investment is significant as Lakeland has enjoyed record freshman classes on its main campus the last two falls thanks largely to its innovative Cooperative Education program. Lakeland’s Co-op program, which was introduced in 2018, offers students in all academic programs the ability to work full- and part-time jobs at partner companies and organizations, and also provides students with a way to reduce or eliminate post-graduation tuition debt. Lakeland is also taking steps to work with partners to develop land on its rurally located main campus into a business park, which will further support regional employers and the institution’s Co-op program.
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