University Housing, a Division of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, is a self-funded, multi-faceted organization. Employing over 400 full-time staff and about 2,000 student employees, the division has a long tradition of providing quality housing options to students. We are home to students from all over the world. Each year over 7,000 undergraduate students will choose to live in one of our residence halls. Because of their positive experiences while living with us, almost 20% of our residents return for another year. Since students are never required to live on campus, we are proud and committed to continue our tradition of success.

Many functions come together in great service
One of the factors that make our residence halls unique is our residence life staff structure. This allows us to provide multiple layers of support for our students and for each other. The professional staff and student staff work closely with students on a daily basis to develop residence hall communities that foster a sense of belonging and promote academic success. Our facilities staff work in partnership to ensure a high standard of living is maintained at all times. We have a number of established learning communities which include the Bradley Learning Community, Chadbourne Residential College, the International Learning Community, the Multicultural Learning Community, Women in Science and Engineering and, new this year, the Entrepreneurial Residential Learning Community.

Since students are not required to dine with us, we are committed to constant innovation in our à la carte dining and culinary services operation. We operate seven dining halls, including marketplace venues, and carry out and delivery services. In addition, a large commissary functions to provide daily fresh food to the dining units and supports an active catering business. In order to keep our students and other customers coming back, we strive daily to exceed their expectations and meet their changing requests.

Meeting the needs of a different demographic
Continuing with our goal of supporting students in their academic careers, the University Apartments community provides community living to 4,000 graduate students, student families, academic staff, and faculty at UW–Madison. University Apartments is comprised of three distinct “neighborhoods:” Eagle Heights, University Houses, and Harvey Street Apartments. Services for all community members include a Community Center where we provide activities for all families. Additionally, we operate a day care facility, Eagle’s Wing, which provides child care and educational support while parents go to school or work.

Summer is busy too!
While many campus departments are quiet during the summer, this may be University Housing’s busiest time. To ensure year round employment for all of our career staff, as we say good-bye in May to the students in our residence halls, we are saying hello to over 16,000 conference guests that use our facilities and dining services for camps and conferences over the summer.

The supporting cast
The daily activities of the division are supported by our administrative staff. We have our own full-service information technology and marketing departments. Also providing divisional support are the Assignments Office, Human Resources, and Business Services. Each of these areas makes an important contribution to the success of the Division.