It's official; The Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center is now open to the public and is ready to welcome a wave of new and returning Concordia Unviersity Wisconsin students in just a matter of weeks.
Yesterday, ahead of the start of the fall semester, university leaders, faculty, staff, students, stakeholders, state and local officials, and other supporters of Concordia University Wisconsin gathered to dedicate the campus’ newest academic building. Following remarks from University President Rev. Patrick T. Ferry, Ph.D., Mequon Mayor John Wirth, Board of Regents Chair Terry Donovan, Foundation Board Chair Christine Specht-Palmert, Campaign Chair Michael White, LCEF President and CEO Bart Day, and Campus Pastor Steve Smith, along with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, guests were invited inside for the first time to tour the brand-new space at their leisure.
Learn more about The Robert W. Plaster Free Enterprise Center here.
In case you missed the festivities, there’s still opportunity to explore the space using the self-guided tour below.
Room 104 | Food Service
Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Concordia’s newest on-campus dining spot will offer a variety of on-the-go options, including smoothies, sandwiches, salads, fruit cups, and more.
Room 112 | Sensory Room
The Sensory Room will be utilized by the Speech-Language Pathology program for sensory regulation and modulation. It will house a variety of therapeutic equipment, including swings, therapeutic balls, deep pressure equipment, and visual and auditory feedback equipment.
Room 113 | Marketing/Graphic Design/3D Maker Lab
Student and community innovators will be welcomed into this creative space to collaborate and tap into some of its resources, including 3D printers for prototyping, allotted spaces for writing software code, a green room curtain for creating marketing videos, a creative workspace/bench, a robotic automation setup, and a virtual reality work area. The space will also serve as the home for the Vertz Marketing Rotary Small Business Innovation Center.
Room 114 | Child Language and Literacy Center (CLLC)
Designed as a space where student clinicians can learn to serve preschool children with speech and language needs, the CLLC features a fully functional preschool classroom and playground for group and individual intervention.
Room 114A | Kitchenette
An extension of the Child Language and Literacy Center, the kitchenette will allow for food storage and preparation for feeding/swallowing intervention. The kitchenette is equipped with therapeutic plates, cups, and silverware and food preparation equipment and thickening agents to modify consistencies in food items.
Room 118 | Feeding/Swallowing Therapy
This will be a space where diagnosis and treatment of feeding and swallowing disorders across the lifespan will take place. Clinicians will utilize low and high tech oral motor treatment equipment, biofeedback technology, Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES), and positioning equipment to support intervention.
Room 127 and 127A | Collaboratorium – Incubator and Commons
Concordia’s startup/incubator space will be a hub for student and community collaboration. Its layout is flexible; it can accommodate up to 120 people for events, but also holds offices and desk space that can be reserved for community or student-led startup companies. Adjacent startup resources include a maker space and legal, accounting, and finance labs. The unfinished ceilings and garage doors intentionally mimic the aesthetic of the spaces that once housed some of the nation’s most notable startups. Inspiration was drawn from models and best practices throughout Wisconsin and the nation.
Room 206 | Analytics Lab
This high-tech space is equipped with software and dual-screened monitors for students studying business analytics, finance, accounting, and economics. With the growing market demand for data-driven decision-making, the high-tech Analytics Lab is equipped with 30 dual-screen monitors (as one might experience in a finance/investment work environment), three large projection screens for high-end video presentations or video conferencing, and access to a Morningstar and Bloomberg Terminal and other accounting and business analytics software.
Room 211 | Food Analysis Science Lab
Concordia’s Food Analysis Science Lab is an analytical chemistry lab that is dually equipped for: a) Forensic Science classes as part of the Justice and Public Policy program, and b) Food Science classes associated with the new Master of Product Development program, with specialization on food and beverage product development. The lab is equipped with cutting-edge analytic equipment such as fingerprint and DNA analysis, fluorescent imaging, and infrared photography. It also includes HPLC capability and visometry measurements.
Room 217 | Hospitality and Event Management Culinary Lab
This fully functioning kitchen was designed with the help of industry experts to simulate an industrial kitchen, with two gas ranges and a wide range of other cooking appliances. It also makes use of sensory software in the adjacent sensory lab for food development projects. This state-of-the art space will be used by students in the Hospitality Business program and the new Product Development (Food and Beverage) program.
Room 219 | Student Observation
This observation room features eight different stations with privacy dividers and outlets to allow students to observe therapy as part of their clinical education.
Room 322 | Audiology Dispensing
This space is dedicated to aural rehabilitation and will allow for the customization and dispensation of state-of-the-art amplification technology and hearing protection.
Room 324 | Audiology Suite
Serving both children and adults, this space includes clinical audiometric equipment with a sound treated booth, including middle ear and inner ear function analysis, to provide extensive hearing assessments.
Room 326 | Language and Literacy Analysis
Fully equipped with recording and analysis software, the Language and Literacy Analysis space will provide opportunities for students to learn and apply transcription and analysis procedures for clinical evaluations and intervention.
Room 328 | Speech and Voice Analysis
This space will allow for the diagnosis and treatment of speech/resonance/voice disorders. Specific features of the Speech and Voice Analysis room will include vocal tract imaging, acoustic analysis, and biofeedback technology.
Room 330 | AAC and Intergenerational Therapy
The Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and Intergenerational Therapy room will be equipped with functional and interactive materials and technology designed to support the individual and complex needs of both children and adults.
Room 332 | Crime Scene Lab
This highly flexible space can be modified and arranged to simulate several different crime scenes. In this lab, students in the Justice and Public Policy program will become familiar with techniques and procedures that they may encounter in the field. Students will learn how to collect, process, and analyze evidence that can be analyzed in the adjacent Forensic Science lab.
Room 336 | Mock Court
This flexible room will serve as a classroom for students pursuing careers in various areas of law or law enforcement professions. A key configuration of the space will simulate a courtroom complete with a judge’s bench, jury section, witness stations, and video screens for viewing digital evidence or presentations.
— This story is written by Kali Thiel, director of university communications for Concordia University Wisconsin and Ann Arbor. She may be reached at kali.thiel@cuw.edu or 262-243-2149.
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