Earth Honoring Brings Together Past, Current and Future Generations in Cofrin Technology and Education Center Event
More than 100 people attended an Earth Honoring this morning on the UW-Green Bay campus, bringing together members of the First Nations communities and the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to celebrate the beginning of the Cofrin Technology and Education Center (CTEC) construction. The Menominee Nation and the Ho-Chunk Nation are the original inhabitants of the region where UW-Green Bay now resides, and Menominee elder (Napos) and Ho-Chunk elder (Ritchie Brown) opened the event with words of recognition for the Earth and the natural world. The Wisconsin Dells drum group (Ho-Chunk Nation) offered honor songs for the Earth and all present.
Wisconsin Dells drum group (Ho-Chunk Nation)
The Earth Honoring intends to bring all people together in community to honor the Earth as well as the plants and animals that live on the land where the CTEC will be constructed. The CTEC building will be at the center of the UW-Green Bay campus. It offers space for gathering, learning, reflection, socializing, and community building for all. The Earth Honoring offers a time for all to come together to collectively share, renew and celebrate these values.
UW-Green Bay Student Government Association President Karime Galaviz, Miron Construction CFO Dean Basten, UW-Green Bay Chancellor Michael Alexander and Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman also spoke at the event.
“The building was specifically designed to allow for flexibility to adapt to an ever-changing world. It reflects our desire to encourage discussion, interdisciplinary work, community conversations and creativity with less offices and more collaborative workspaces,” said UW-Green Bay Chancellor, Michael Alexander. “With student success, entrepreneurship and our incredible First Nations program at the forefront of the design of this building, we look forward to sharing this space with the community and all current and future Phoenix.”
Throughout the construction of CTEC, students will continue to have access to all services provided by the existing Cofrin Library. This decision was made to ensure that students receive uninterrupted support and resources during the building process.
UW-Green Bay Student Body President, Karime Galaviz
“The CTEC will be the new main entrance to our beautiful campus, and allow for socialization, connection and the space will provide opportunities for people study together develop ideas for their student organizations or simply have a chat with their peers,” said UW-Green Bay Student Body President, Karime Galaviz. “This will be essential for the students to connect with each other and build their social capital expanding not only their friendships at UW-Green Bay but their reason for staying here. A modern future-focused building like the CTEC will allow students to look into the future and adapt ideas to the future, and discuss solutions to resolve the problems of today.”
The new Cofrin Technology and Education Center (CTEC) celebrates new ways of learning, conducting research, working and collaborating. Designed as a crossroad of the many ways to learn, the CTEC building reflects modern technology and the circular and interconnected worldview of Indigenous ways, blurring the linear notion of humans as separate from nature while also honoring the original Native American inhabitants of the land from which the new building is rising.
A highly flexible, collaborative, and welcoming space, it honors the interdisciplinary history of UW-Green Bay and the current unique blend of students that the University serves. It features integrated student research and study space alongside academic and administrative functions, fostering collaboration and student success. It reflects UW-Green Bay’s passion for environmental stewardship and forward-thinking service throughout. As the gateway to campus for the community with an entrepreneur center, cafe, and launching point for campus tours, the space will help shape the future of the Phoenix.
Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman
“When UW-Green Bay set out to undertake this project, it did not begin by asking ‘What does this campus need?’ It began by asking, ‘What do our students and our community need?’ There’s a difference,” said Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman. “And the Cofrin Education & Technology Center soon will be a beacon of opportunities for northeast Wisconsin, well beyond the bounds of this campus. Like UW-Green Bay, the Universities of Wisconsin are here to serve the state now and in the years ahead. And to provide the quality education that our students and Wisconsin deserve and expect also requires quality facilities. We are grateful to the State of Wisconsin for its support of this proudly ambitious venture.”
The Cofrin Technology and Education Center will replace the 52-year-old Cofrin Library and change the landscape for the state’s fastest growing university, as the current eight-story library will be torn down upon the completion of the CTEC building. The Wisconsin state building commission approved the new five-story, $101 million replacement in August of 2024. Engberg Anderson Architects in association with Shepley Bulfinch worked with the university to design the building; Miron Construction will lead the project.
“We believe CTEC can be a crossroads of knowledge systems – a place for conversation amongst people, cultures, worldviews,” said Laura Ross, senior architect, associate, Shepley Bulfinch, “and can be expressive both of UW-Green Bay’s origins as ‘Eco U’ and the university’s commitment to center and express First Nations culture. It expresses UW-Green Bay’s innovative and interdisciplinary spirit.”
Dean Basten ’89, CFO, Miron Construction
“Before any building rises, we must pause and recognize the land and its people,” said Dean Basten ‘89, CFO of Miron Construction. “More than bricks and beans, it’s a hub of innovation, collaboration and learning. It’s exciting to think about the ideas and leaders that will emerge from this space in the years to come. Thank you for trusting us to bring this to life – we don’t take that responsibility lightly and we are honored to build a place where futures will be forged.”
In addition to highlighting UW-Green Bay’s First Nations programs, the building will feature the “Three Sisters Cafe,” featuring food inspired by corn, beans, and squash, which according to Indigenous agriculture, nurture each other like family when planted together – a powerful representation of how campus and community are intended to nurture each other. In order to spread the spirit of entrepreneurship to students in all majors and the community, there will be a dedicated space for inspiring entrepreneurial activities. The second floor will have support services for students, faculty, and staff as well as rooms that inspire how technology and education intersect in the future. The fourth floor contains the archives that show the history of UW-Green Bay and the city and region. The top floor has a beautiful Overlook Room where students can view the whole campus.
Construction of the CTEC building is set to begin this month, and once completed in 2027, the current Cofrin Library will be taken down. Learn more about the building and construction timeline on the website.
About UW-Green Bay
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is a school of resilient problem solvers who dare to reach higher with the power of education that ignites growth and answers the biggest challenges. Serving 11,198 undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral students as well as 85,883 continuing education learners annually, UW-Green Bay offers 200 academic degrees, programs, and certificates. With four campus locations in Northeast Wisconsin, the University’s access mission welcomes all students who want to learn, from every corner of the world. Championing bold thinking since opening its doors in 1965, it is a university on the rise – Wisconsin’s fastest growing UW. For more information, visit www.uwgb.edu.
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