At noon on May 1, with fanfare from the UW Marching Band, the Chazen Museum of Art broke ground on an 81,000-square-foot expansion. Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton, Chancellor Biddy Martin, Dean Gary Sandefur, Tim Erdman, Simona and Jerry Chazen, and Russell Panczenko spoke about the value of this museum to the community and of the arts to our everyday lives and well-being.

We are so pleased to begin construction on a beautiful building that will allow us to better serve the community across campus and around the state. When we open our expanded museum in the fall of 2011 we will have new versatile and elegant galleries and gathering spaces to fulfill our mission of enriching the human experience with visual art and art education. We are deeply grateful to the Chazens, all our generous donors, and everyone who made this day possible.

View images from the Groundbreaking ceremony

Interview with Simona and Jerome Chazen
WISC-TV interview with Susan Siman and Marc Koehn, May 1, 2009

Neil Heinen editorial
WISC-TV, April 30, 2009