UW-RF opens Hudson Center

• The UW-River Falls Hudson Center

The UW-River Falls Hudson Center is located above Eagle Valley Bank at the northeast corner of Carmichael and Hanley roads. Photo by Randy Hanson

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The University of Wisconsin-River Falls will open a Hudson Center when the fall semester begins Sept. 2.

The three-classroom center will be located above Eagle Valley Bank at the northeast corner of Carmichael and Hanley roads. It’s on the second floor of the Carley Ponds office building.

The university is bringing its masters in business administration program and two masters in secondary education programs to the Hudson Center.

A bachelor’s degree completion program in business administration, and some liberal arts and non-credit classes also will be offered at the center.

“We are excited about establishing a facility to serve the St. Croix Valley in new ways, and to further strengthen our partnerships with the community,” UW-River Falls Chancellor Dean Van Galen was quoted as saying in news release announcing the establishment of the university satellite.

According to Blake Fry, the special assistant to the chancellor who will serve as director of the center, establishing the satellite was Van Galen’s idea.

Van Galen held a series of meetings with community leaders after being installed a chancellor in July 2009.

“This is one of the needs that was identified out of those meetings,” Fry said. “He had been working mentally on this for a while, but announced it to the public during his inauguration in the spring.”

Higher education may have a reputation for moving slowly, but the turn-around on launching the Hudson Center was quick, Fry said.

The university has signed a five-year lease with Greystone Commercial for the space. David Robson of Greystone arranged the deal.

Derrick Commercial of New Richmond is doing the build-out.

The three classrooms will have seating for 48, 24 and 22 students.

Carpeting was being installed last week. The technology and furniture was scheduled to go in this week.

Fry said the center will be equipped with the latest educational technology. The students will sit on padded rolling chairs behind tables, he said.

The location of the Carley Ponds building, a short distance south of Interstate 94, and nearby restaurants and coffee shops, is a major reason it was picked for the center, Fry said.

“The selected location provides the ideal combination of interstate access, adequate parking, proximity to amenities and appropriate adult learning environments,” he was quoted as saying in the news release.

The news release makes mention of the “approximately 80,000 residents of Wisconsin and Minnesota who travel the highway through Hudson daily.”

Exploration of future educational offerings at the Hudson Center will continue with regional educational partners, including the Hudson School District, according to the university.

The new release quotes Hudson School Superintendent Mary Bowen-Eggebraaten as saying the school district and university would be partnering to offer “new, engaging learning opportunities” for high school students.

A grand opening for the UW-River Falls Hudson Center is planned for September.

For more information about the Hudson Center, including a complete list of course offerings and hours of operation, visit www.uwrf.edu/hudsoncenter or contact Fry at (715) 425-3711.

Tags: uw river falls, education, college, hudson