UW-Platteville officials tried to make the most of hosting the first public hearing on Gov. Scott Walker's 2017-10 state budget proposal Monday.
Administrators and faculty members pressed the state legislature's Joint Finance Committee (JFC) to put additional money in the budget for a new Engineering Department building on campus.
The current Engineering Hall is 50 years old. Several deans and professors say it is simply outdated.
"More importantly, in 20 and 30 years the technology's gonna be rapidly increasing also," said Dr. Philip Parker, an environmental engineering professor. "We need a building that can educate our students in a modern way on modern tools and techniques of engineering."
UW-Platteville officials also want state money to renovate Boebel Hall, which houses the Department of Biology.
The two building projects would cost $60-80 million combined.