Marquette to dedicate Zilber Hall

Event Information
Date: Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Time: 4 p.m.
Place: North end of Zilber Hall Contact
          1250 W. Wisconsin Ave.

Marquette University will formally dedicate Joseph and Vera Zilber Hall, the new student services and administration building, at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 5. A brief program will take place outdoors on the north side of the building, located at 1250 W. Wisconsin Ave., followed by a reception and self-guided tours of the facility.

The 130,000 square foot, four- story building brings together the offices of the Bursar, Registrar, and Student Financial Aid in a common service center, Marquette Central, on the first floor. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions, also on the first floor, has expanded visit space for prospective students and their parents. Administrative offices occupy the second and third floors, with a chapel on the second floor. The fourth floor executive suite includes the offices of the President, Provost and Senior Vice President. 

Designed by Kubala Washatko Architects and constructed by Opus North Corporation, Zilber Hall blends with the neighboring buildings on the Marquette campus.  The design includes carefully placed windows to maximize the amount of natural light in the interior workspaces. The main lobby displays a large campus map and exhibit of Milwaukee real estate developer and philanthropist Joe Zilber and his wife, Vera, for whom the building is named.

In 2007, Joe Zilber gave $30 million to Marquette University Law School: $25 million for law school scholarships and $5 million to fund a forum in Eckstein Hall, the new law building scheduled to open in August 2010. In 2008, the Zilber Family Foundation donated $50 million to revitalize deteriorating neighborhoods in his beloved hometown of Milwaukee. Zilber, who graduated from Marquette University with a degree in business administration in 1939 and law in 1941 and who met his wife at the university, was named Marquette’s Alumnus of the Year in 2009. The university hosted his funeral services following his death in March 2010.

Zilber Hall was designed to be eco-friendly, and the university is seeking LEED certification. Among the energy-saving features of the building, designed to exceed building code requirements for energy usage by 14 percent, are:

• Heat recovery systems and state of the art HVAC controls;
• 75 percent of the building space exposed to daylight;
• Exterior zones with daylight sensors to dim artificial lights when natural lighting meets demands; and
• Occupancy sensors which switch off lights when rooms are unoccupied.

Other “green initiatives” that were part of the project included recycling of 98 percent of the materials from the 1212 building that previously occupied the site and installation of plumbing fixtures that require less water usage. 

The Gallery (the hallway at the south end that runs the length of the building, from 12th to 13th Street) of Zilber Hall features panels that illustrate the history of Marquette, the university's mission, and signage that is changeable and currently displays the recipients of the Père Marquette Discovery Award. Full-size wall graphics and framed lifestyle portraits of students and campus give a student-centered focus to the Admissions office, from the reception area to the presentation room.

In August 2009, Marquette opened McCabe Hall, a suite-style residence hall developed from a 1920s apartment building at the corner of 17th and Wisconsin. In addition to Eckstein Hall, also under construction on campus is the Discovery Learning Complex, the new College of Engineering facility scheduled to open in August 2011.

The dedication is free and open to the public. Please register with University Special Events at (414) 288-7431 or UniversitySpecialEvents@marquette.edu.

Media interested in attending the event should contact Mary Pat Pfeil in the Office of Marketing and Communication at (414) 288-4719 or marypat.pfeil@marquette.edu.