Cover Story



Empowering Students. The Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust is.
In April of 2008, the Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust donated $1.75 million to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Libraries for creation of a new learning environment in the Golda Meir Library. The $1,752,545 gift will fund the Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons, the centerpiece of the building’s renovated West Wing first floor. The area will include expanded learning spaces, enhanced technology, group study areas, classroom areas and a café.

“We are most grateful to the Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust for this wonderful gift,” says UWM Chancellor Carlos E. Santiago. “The flexible, open space and additional technology in the new Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons will provide more opportunities for students to gather, study, interact and work together. The UWM Libraries are critical to the success of our initiatives for economic growth, and this donation will help us enhance library facilities for both faculty and students.”

“It was Dan Soref's desire that his trust contribute to the betterment of Greater Milwaukee,” a spokesperson for the trust says. “The Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust is very pleased to have this opportunity to support the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, one of Wisconsin’s leading educational institutions. The university is playing an ever-increasing role in the community in helping to revitalize the economy and participating in the improvement of primary and secondary education. The trust believes all of the university’s many efforts are enhanced with its design of the Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons. This facility will provide the best environment for productive learning, utilizing current technology that is adaptable to future changes.”

The Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust was established in 2001, following the death of Daniel M. Soref, the son of Samuel Soref, an officer and member of one of the founding families of Master Lock. The trust has previously made major gifts to the Milwaukee Public Museum for the Daniel M. Soref Planetarium; the Froedtert Hospital Foundation for the Daniel M. Soref Clinical Neuroscience Fellowship; Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Foundation for the Daniel M. Soref Family Resource Center; and to the Jewish Community Center to create the Daniel M. Soref Education and Retreat Center.

“The Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons will become a real focal point for the campus,” says Ewa Barczyk, UWM director of libraries. “It will integrate technology, services and academics, and be an attractive, welcoming place for students.”

The area will be comfortable and spacious, reflecting today’s more collaborative learning styles, she adds. “For example, students can easily gather in group study rooms to work together on team-based projects. This space will certainly provide an enhanced and supportive learning environment leading to an increase in to our students’ overall success at UWM.”

As the UWM campus has grown, the demand for learning spaces in the Golda Meir Library has increased dramatically, Barczyk notes.

Planning for a renovation of the library building, which has not been remodeled in more than 20 years, has been under way for some time. The UW System Board of Regents, the state Building Commission and the university’s Physical Environment Committee have all approved the project.

The number of students on campus has nearly doubled since the library was built in 1967, from 15,500 to more than 29,000. During the same time, the number of books and other materials has increased from 750,000 items to more than 5.2 million items, plus thousands of online resources. The growth of collaborative learning and team projects also has increased the need for spaces in the library to support new learning and research experiences, adds Barczyk.

The state budgeted $3.5 million, and UWM has been seeking private donations to make up the balance. “This generous gift and the money raised through the efforts of our hardworking Friends of the Library group are vital to making this transformation of the UWM Libraries’ facilities possible,” says Barczyk.

n addition to helping complete and enhance the renovation itself, the gift from the Daniel M. Soref Charitable Trust will pay for additional furnishings and technology. Construction is scheduled to start this fall. The Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons is scheduled to open in winter 2009.

Key features of the new Daniel M. Soref Learning Commons are:

• Increased seating space – from 172 to more than 400 seats – on the library’s first floor.
• More than 200 computers with enhanced software, including 50 laptops, for students to check out.
• Group study rooms well-equipped for technology to accommodate collaborative learning and team-based assignments.
• A remodeled and expanded coffee shop for use by faculty and students.
• Ready access to student support services such as the Writing Center, tutoring services (TARC) and information technology support.
• Classrooms for information literacy sessions – teaching students to locate, evaluate and use online information.
• Increased overall space for student learning on the library’s first floor from 18,500 to 32,500 square feet (most staff offices currently in the area will be moved elsewhere).

To read more about the renovation of the Golda Meir Library, visit: www.uwm.edu/Libraries/renovation