Near the end of the spring 2024 semester, students in LIS 722: College and University Libraries, taught by Patrick Leeport, had the chance to test out potential new furniture for the iSchool’s future home in the pathbreaking School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences (CDIS) building, Morgridge Hall. As part of an extra credit assignment for the course, students offered reasoned feedback on furniture for use in common areas and lounges in the new building, such as chairs and sofas.
“The students gravitated toward furniture I would not have anticipated,” said Leeport, the course’s instructor. “And they offered some very thoughtful notes.”
One space within the new building, the CDIS Commons, will be designed as an innovative academic library space, complete with services, staff, and of course, furniture. Because the students had just delved into library space design best practices in LIS 722, they were ideal evaluators of the furniture fellow students will utilize after the new building opens in 2025.
“This was directly tied to what the students were learning in class around space design,” said iSchool Associate Director Nikki Wiessinger. She added, “It was also a great way to give students a voice in decisions related to the new building.”
The cutting-edge new facility was recently named Morgridge Hall for transformative UW–Madison alumni and philanthropists John and Tashia Morgridge. Set to open next year, it will bring the iSchool together under one roof with the other CDIS departments, Computer Sciences and Statistics. The space will be a hub for collaboration, designed to bridge disciplines and enable faculty, students and staff to solve important problems together.
For more updates on the new CDIS building, Morgridge Hall, visit this webpage.