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�������ý��Ƶ today announced the launch of Level Up, a bold new project to support student health, wellness, and performance.  

The Level Up project features the construction of two new facilities: The Loop, an indoor training center, and The Hub, a fitness, recreation, and practice facility. Today’s Level Up Kickoff Celebration revealed that phase one of Level Up will soon be underway with construction of The Hub set to begin later this month. A construction timeframe for The Loop has not yet been established.  

The Hub is a major renovation project that will transform the lower level of the City Center East building in downtown Appleton into a state-of-the-art fitness and recreation center serving the entire campus community, complete with practice facilities for athletics and the music Conservatory.  

“The Hub greatly expands our ability to offer the variety of fitness and recreation options our students want, while providing much-need practice space for athletics and the music Conservatory,” said Chris Clarke, Vice President for Student Life. “More importantly, The Hub will bring students together outside of class with people they might not otherwise encounter any other way, which strengthens the sense of connection and belonging that contributes to students’ overall well-being.”  

Strengthening body, mind, and spirit 

The Hub features 56,000 square feet of fitness, recreation, and practice space that serves a variety of needs for the campus community:  

MUSIC CONSERVATORY 

Supporting the vision 

The space for The Hub in the lower level of the City Center East building in the heart of downtown Appleton was entrusted to �������ý��Ƶ by local business leaders John Pfefferle, Paul Hoffman, and Thomas Janssen, whose transformational gift of property brought the University’s vision for enriching campus health and wellness into focus.  

“The Hub intentionally brings together wellness, athletics, and music, creating an environment that mirrors the way �������ý��Ƶ students live, learn, and grow,” said �������ý��Ƶ President Laurie A. Carter. “This kind of creative, integrative thinking is exactly what today’s world – and job market – demands. The Hub reflects the adaptability, collaboration, and innovation our graduates will need to thrive and to lead in their lives after �������ý��Ƶ.”  

During her remarks at the Kickoff Celebrations, longtime Appleton resident, business leader and �������ý��Ƶ Trustee Kathi Seifert reflected on �������ý��Ƶ’s long history of campus/community collaboration over the decades.  

“The Hub is the latest extension of that shared vision and collective effort,” Seifert said. “Local business leaders placed their trust in �������ý��Ƶ to steward forward their gift of this space to create something exception. The Hub is a bold new step forward for �������ý��Ƶ and our community as well.”  

A space for creativity and connection 

During his remarks at the Kickoff Celebration, head softball coach Korey Krueger ’95 reflected on Virginia Woolfe’s “A Room of One’s Own,” a required text during his student days at �������ý��Ƶ that stuck with him for decades. The book examined the need for an individual to have space and freedom to be truly creative.  

“The Hub will be a shared space for the entire �������ý��Ƶ community to find that creativity, to have a space to create, grow, and thrive,” Krueger said. “The Hub is not just a project that will create a space: it is a project that will create energy, connection, and community – a room of one’s own – for everyone.”  

Practice is a crucial part of developing excellence in any endeavor, said Chris Jenkins, Dean of the �������ý��Ƶ Conservatory, with four to six hours of daily rehearsal being the norm for Conservatory students.  

“With The Hub, we’re leveling up to a new rehearsal space that befits a world-class conservatory,” Jenkins said. “And our students are thrilled at the prospect of having the new practice suite available to help them level up their rehearsals and performances.”  

Joey O’Connor, who is graduating in June with degrees in Trumpet Performance and Music Education, remarked that finding available rehearsal space for the hours of daily practice required by musicians can be a challenge for Conservatory students.  

“The new practice suite at The Hub will be a game-changer for any musician who wants to be able to put in the hard work we know – and embrace – as the fuel to make us the musicians we aspire to be,” O’Connor said.