Successful health care innovation requires state-of-the-art facilities and technology. With these upcoming construction projects and access to the latest supercomputing technology, UW-Eau Claire is poised to advance health sciences education at the undergraduate level and beyond.

Science and Health Sciences Building project 

UWEC’s new $256 million Science and Health Sciences Building will be the catalyst for innovation — supporting new programs such as the Blugold supercomputing cluster and the biomedical engineering program — and will expand on our national leadership in undergraduate research and advance collaborations with community partners.

Anchored in UW-Eau Claire's mission and long-standing tradition of providing transformational learning opportunities, the building will include substantial lab space dedicated to the research collaboration with Mayo Clinic Health System. Currently, an off-campus space is used for networking, researching and teaching. But having a cutting-edge facility right here on campus will allow UWEC students and faculty across disciplines to work even closer with Mayo Clinic Health System physicians, scientists and researchers, fostering innovation and collaboration more often.

Demolition of existing residence halls in this space is set to begin mid-2022, with design and bidding in 2022 and 2023 and construction beginning in 2024. The building is expected to open in fall 2026.

A space to learn, study and grow

County Materials Complex

The County Materials Complex is a public-private partnership to construct a major event facility, a 24-hour fitness/wellness center, and a fieldhouse. Within this complex, Mayo Clinic Health System will construct a Diagnostic Imaging and Sports Medicine Center, where they will offer sports medicine, human performance enhancement and imaging services.

In 2021, Mayo Clinic Health System was named the provider of sports medicine services for UW-Eau Claire Athletics. Clinical staff from the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine now provide care — from sideline support to surgical procedures — for all 25 Blugold men's and women's athletic teams. This new clinical location within the County Materials Complex will further advance this medical collaboration.

A sustainable partnership

Blugold Supercomputing Cluster

Being at the forefront of medical science requires access to advanced technology, and the two Blugold Supercomputing Clusters on campus offer an opportunity for UW-Eau Claire students and faculty to further collaborate with Mayo Clinic Health System.

Health care is an entirely data-driven field. Not only do these powerful supercomputing systems offer insights through artificial intelligence and analyzing large subsets of data, but they do so at a speed necessary to drive timely improvements in patient care. High-resolution images, labs, pathology and patient records are just a few opportunities where UWEC students and faculty can leverage this technology to further collaborate with Mayo Clinic Health System researchers. Together, both institutions are advancing biomedical technology and data to improve patient outcomes.

The Blugold Supercomputing Clusters were made possible thanks to a public-private collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE).

Data-driven healthcare research

What boundaries will we push next?

The collaboration between UW-Eau Claire and Mayo Clinic Health System is relatively new, and while much has been accomplished, this only scratches the surface of what is yet to come. Both institutions are on the forefront of improving patient care and outcomes, and together, there is no limit to what can be achieved.