Construction on campus (Photo: Michael Forster Rothbart / University of Wisconsin-Madison)
Thousands of students take their first step in getting familiar with the UW campus, and construction could be a burden.
The first summer SOAR session begins — Student Orientation, Advising and Registration. Basically, it’s the students’ introduction to their academic experience.
Wren Singer is director of the Center for the First-Year Experience, an arm of the Offices of the Dean of Students. She says extensive road and building construction on campus is presenting a few logistical challenges. “So, while it is complicated, I think it provides a realistic orientation to what they are going to expect as students here.”
The UW wants everyone to be aware of all the new folks in town for the next eight weeks, and asks that everyone be patient, friendly and helpful.
“To be welcoming and helpful to them if they have questions, or show them around or do whatever they can to make them feel welcome. These are the newest members of our community and we very much want them to feel like they’ve made a good choice and that they’re going be happy and welcome.”
Singer says in the scheme of things, the construction won’t matter because families and students are focused on academics, not aesthetics. More than 7,000 new and transferring students and their parents plan to visit UW-Madison during continuous two-day sessions that run through August 4th. SOAR takes place in seven different campus venues and includes a bus tour, so construction projects will be hard to miss. The first summer SOAR session began Thursday.
SOAR has been around for over 50 years, in some fashion or other. A much broader orientation takes place in the fall.
Updated construction maps are posted to the SOAR web site
Questions: visit or call: (608) 262-4707.