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Timothy Hyland entered the completed Timothy J. Hyland Hall for the first time Friday. "It's phenomenal," he said. "I was really impressed today with the spaces available for students to study here, as opposed to having to go back to their dorm rooms. The classroom settings, the auditorium, the conference rooms, the group meeting areas are all extraordinary." Faculty, donors and community members celebrated the grand opening of Hyland Hall Friday in the building's 400-seat Timmerman Auditorium. Construction on the $41.5 million project began in 2007 and was completed during the summer for fall-semester classes. The building's features include more than 30 classrooms, Deloitte Café, three computer labs, student organization and faculty offices, and seven conference rooms. Gov. Jim Doyle, who spoke at the ceremony, said he thinks UW-Whitewater's College of Business and Education finally has a building to reflect its reputation as one of the best business schools in the area. "We're just going to have students that are going to have an enhanced education because of this building," he said. "It also really puts a great face on the state and on the university." Hyland, a 1982 UW-Whitewater graduate, donated $2 million to the project, which included the David Hoague Memorial Student Lounge. He said seeing the lounge was an emotional experience for himself and his family who came to the ceremony. "The lounge was seen by us for the first time [Friday], and it was very emotional for my parents and me and my sisters," he said. "David was one of my best friends from Sturgeon Bay, Wis., and my roommate at Wells Hall during our first semester in the fall of 1978. He disappeared Nov. 11, 1978, and was later found dead in the lake during Easter week." Hyland said people have told him Hyland Hall's state-of-the-art construction, spaces for faculty, students and teaching, and its architectural natural light and beauty make it one of the best new educational buildings anywhere. "Because of those elements, the natural result should be that educators and students feel motivated and want to step it up a notch by enjoying and taking full advantage of their new educational setting," he said. "Also, if I was a teacher participating with the Ipod technology and knowing my classes were going to be recorded and available for downloading and listening, I would want to plan the class work and lectures accordingly, possibly bringing it to a new higher level as well." Doyle said even during times of recession funding needs to be supplied for education. "These are investments we make in good and bad times," he said. "We cannot say to a great student … that I'm sorry, we're in tough times. We don't have a place in our university for you. Come back in a few years when things are maybe a little better." "University of Wisconsin-Whitewater understands this. This is a campus that has moved forward year after year."
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