22 May UW-Madison computer science prepares to relocate, meet ‘AI moment’
Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau, director of the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, is pictured outside of the newly built Morgridge Hall. The building is set to open this fall at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. BECK HENRECKSON
Remzi Arpaci-Dusseau didn’t expect to feel wistful packing up his former office in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s computer sciences department.
But he started thinking about all the students he’d met there and the late nights he’d spent grading exams.
“I literally worked in that same office for 25 and a half years,” Arpaci-Dusseau said.
When he looks at Morgridge Hall, though, he’s filled with excitement. The newly built facility will soon house UW-Madison’s School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, or CDIS.
Arpaci-Dusseau recently took over as director of the rapidly growing school. Enrollment nearly doubled from the 2018-19 academic year to about 6,200 students in 2024-2025. The school also houses the university’s two largest majors: computer sciences, followed by data science.
Construction on Morgridge Hall is expected to wrap up this summer, with classes set to begin this fall. Located along University Avenue, the facility spans more than 340,000 square feet and stands seven stories tall.
The $267 million project is the largest privately funded building in UW-Madison’s history, according to the school. The facility is named after retired Cisco CEO and chairman John Morgridge and his wife, Tashia, Badger alums who provided $140 million toward the project.
For the first time, the school’s three departments — computer sciences, statistics and the information school — will be together under one roof. They will be joined by data and informatics researchers from other parts of campus.