Philanthropy
Reaching out to Wisconsin
A Minnesota company helps renovate mechanical engineering facility.
Although 3M is best known as a Minnesota corporation, the manufacturing giant has a huge Wisconsin presence and employs many UW-Madison alumni, particularly engineering graduates.
It made sense for 3M Community Giving, the charitable arm of 3M, to give $1.6 million toward a renovated and expanded Mechanical Engineering Building, as part of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering project. The gift includes $1.4 million, along with 3M multimedia projectors, valued at $200,000, that will help equip the building. In recognition of the contribution, the university will name the facility’s main lecture hall the 3M Auditorium.
“This generous gift to the College of Engineering reflects 3M’s commitment to innovation,” says College of Engineering Dean Paul S. Peercy MS’63, PhD’66. “The new Mechanical Engineering Building will have the facilities and resources to conduct research and educate engineers in a new age of discovery.”
The project will update the Mechanical Engineering Building, constructed in 1930 around a then-existing machine shop. To create a facility for twenty-first century engineering in a pre-World War II building, the university has demolished the structure and will replace it with a four-story addition for academic and research programs, as well as a fifth floor that will house the mechanical systems and a basement containing heavy-duty laboratories.
Although 3M is best known as a Minnesota corporation, the manufacturing giant has a huge Wisconsin presence and employs many UW-Madison alumni, particularly engineering graduates.
It made sense for 3M Community Giving, the charitable arm of 3M, to give $1.6 million toward a renovated and expanded Mechanical Engineering Building, as part of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering project. The gift includes $1.4 million, along with 3M multimedia projectors, valued at $200,000, that will help equip the building. In recognition of the contribution, the university will name the facility’s main lecture hall the 3M Auditorium.
“This generous gift to the College of Engineering reflects 3M’s commitment to innovation,” says College of Engineering Dean Paul S. Peercy MS’63, PhD’66. “The new Mechanical Engineering Building will have the facilities and resources to conduct research and educate engineers in a new age of discovery.”
The project will update the Mechanical Engineering Building, constructed in 1930 around a then-existing machine shop. To create a facility for twenty-first century engineering in a pre-World War II building, the university has demolished the structure and will replace it with a four-story addition for academic and research programs, as well as a fifth floor that will house the mechanical systems and a basement containing heavy-duty laboratories.
Project details include bringing the electrical and data infrastructure up-to-date, installing a new central system for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and adding a new elevator to make the building more accessible to people with disabilities. The historic limestone façade will be preserved, and a new main entrance will be created.
“This project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is in keeping with our tradition of giving, which targets science, engineering, and business education — disciplines important to society and technology companies like 3M,” says Barbara Kaufmann of 3M. “Facilities are one part of the education experience, and we are pleased to support this endeavor, which will advance teaching and learning opportunities for faculty and students.”
The 3M Auditorium will be a 3,045-square-foot lecture hall with 159 seats. It will feature multimedia and will be capable of originating and receiving satellite video transmissions. The 3M Auditorium will be used for classes, meetings, seminars, and other functions.
“This project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is in keeping with our tradition of giving, which targets science, engineering, and business education — disciplines important to society and technology companies like 3M,” says Barbara Kaufmann of 3M. “Facilities are one part of the education experience, and we are pleased to support this endeavor, which will advance teaching and learning opportunities for faculty and students.”
The 3M Auditorium will be a 3,045-square-foot lecture hall with 159 seats. It will feature multimedia and will be capable of originating and receiving satellite video transmissions. The 3M Auditorium will be used for classes, meetings, seminars, and other functions.
At least 340 UW-Madison graduates work for 3M in the United States. Wisconsin is home to six 3M manufacturing plants and more than 4,000 3M employees, and the company has a Wisconsin payroll that exceeds $200 million annually. Each year, 3M exports more than $400 million worth of products from the state.
In 2005, another major gift of $450,000 established the 3M Foundation Science and Technology Fellows Fund to provide supplemental financial assistance to selected university graduate students. The fund helps students meet the costs of tuition, fees, books, and other educational expenses.
— Chris DuPré
In 2005, another major gift of $450,000 established the 3M Foundation Science and Technology Fellows Fund to provide supplemental financial assistance to selected university graduate students. The fund helps students meet the costs of tuition, fees, books, and other educational expenses.
— Chris DuPré
Remembering Tyler
Siblings will have a special space at UW’s new children’s hospital.
Tyler Tracy was born in 2002 with pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) deficiency, a rare genetic disorder that does not allow carbohydrates to be processed. To stay alive, he needed a special infant formula imported from the United Kingdom. When the formula was banned from importation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because of a labeling issue, Tyler’s parents did everything they could to save their son’s life — including launching a media campaign to bring attention to their plight.
Jeff ‘93 and Kristin Tracy of Lodi, Wisconsin, did what any parents would do to keep their child alive. Tyler’s story, featured at first on local television stations and in Madison newspapers, eventually made headlines across the country. The government backed down, allowing the infant formula, called Ketocal, to be available once again.
The Tracys found specialized care for their son at the UW Children’s Hospital. What they didn’t find, however, was a supervised area where their other two children could play while they dealt with the realities of Tyler’s life-threatening condition. It was difficult for the Tracys to give full attention to Tyler’s care and keep an eye on daughter McKayla and son Austin. With a hospital full of tubes, monitors, and other interesting things, it was a challenge keeping Tyler’s siblings out of harm’s way.
Tyler Tracy was born in 2002 with pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC) deficiency, a rare genetic disorder that does not allow carbohydrates to be processed. To stay alive, he needed a special infant formula imported from the United Kingdom. When the formula was banned from importation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration because of a labeling issue, Tyler’s parents did everything they could to save their son’s life — including launching a media campaign to bring attention to their plight.
Jeff ‘93 and Kristin Tracy of Lodi, Wisconsin, did what any parents would do to keep their child alive. Tyler’s story, featured at first on local television stations and in Madison newspapers, eventually made headlines across the country. The government backed down, allowing the infant formula, called Ketocal, to be available once again.
The Tracys found specialized care for their son at the UW Children’s Hospital. What they didn’t find, however, was a supervised area where their other two children could play while they dealt with the realities of Tyler’s life-threatening condition. It was difficult for the Tracys to give full attention to Tyler’s care and keep an eye on daughter McKayla and son Austin. With a hospital full of tubes, monitors, and other interesting things, it was a challenge keeping Tyler’s siblings out of harm’s way.
In 2003, at the age of seventeen months, Tyler lost his battle with PDHC deficiency. Not long after that, the Tracys began a campaign to raise $200,000 to name a new sibling care center “Tyler’s Place,” to honor Tyler’s memory. They established the Tyler Tracy Foundation and are working hard to ensure that a sibling care center will be included in the new American Family Children’s Hospital.
“While the idea of the sibling room was a welcome surprise to me, the fact that the Tracys are making it a reality is not,” says Tyler’s physician, Joseph Mahoney. “After my experience with the Tracys, I see this as not just making the experience better, but as being essential for parents to provide better care for their family.”
“We don’t have many resources,” says Jeff Tracy. “It’s really just Kristin and me trying to get the word out and reach our goal. We know that someday soon, a family will be utilizing the resources of a sibling care center and will be grateful it is there. They will have one less thing to try to manage, to have to cope with, to have to worry about. Having an opportunity to do all that and honor Tyler’s memory in the process is what keeps us going.”
To learn more about Tyler, his family, and how to help make Tyler’s Place a reality, visit www.tylersplace.org.
— Sue Zyhowski
“While the idea of the sibling room was a welcome surprise to me, the fact that the Tracys are making it a reality is not,” says Tyler’s physician, Joseph Mahoney. “After my experience with the Tracys, I see this as not just making the experience better, but as being essential for parents to provide better care for their family.”
“We don’t have many resources,” says Jeff Tracy. “It’s really just Kristin and me trying to get the word out and reach our goal. We know that someday soon, a family will be utilizing the resources of a sibling care center and will be grateful it is there. They will have one less thing to try to manage, to have to cope with, to have to worry about. Having an opportunity to do all that and honor Tyler’s memory in the process is what keeps us going.”
To learn more about Tyler, his family, and how to help make Tyler’s Place a reality, visit www.tylersplace.org.
— Sue Zyhowski
