News

Building project planned for Oshkosh Newman Center

By Jeff Kurowski
Compass Assistant Editor

Previous articles: from February 18, 2005 issue: • Campus ministry fuels students' growth in faith     UW-Green Bay and Oshkosh centers make     church present from November 14, 2003 issue: • Bp. Banks to bless new UW-Oshkosh Newman Center     Center has temporary home from November 29, 2002 issue: • UW Oshkosh buys Newman Center     Current use to continue from March 15, 2002 issue: • Meals attract college students to church life     Campus ministry provides many religious services     for college youth from January 11, 2002 issue: • Taking the quiet approach to finding vocations     Like choosing a major, discerning a vocation takes     time, reflection

The Catholic community at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh could have a new worship and gathering space by the fall of 2008. The Newman Center of Oshkosh Inc., a corporation of the Diocese of Green Bay, has purchased property on Elmwood Avenue, near campus, with plans to build a Newman Center.

The nearly 5,500 square-foot center will feature a 150-seat chapel, offices, a lounge, a prayer garden and outdoor seating, provided the Oshkosh Common Council approves a zoning change. The council was scheduled to discuss zoning on Dec. 12. The property was zoned as residential property. It is surrounded by university property, so the diocese was seeking the same planned development zoning.

"We could leave it at that (residential zoning), but we would be severely restricted on what type of building we could put up," said Dcn. Mike Grzeca, diocesan director of Evangelization and Worship.

Bill Freuh, former city manager of Oshkosh, and Marty Kleiber, an architect from Kahler-Slater of Milwaukee, the same firm that designed renovations at Camp Tekawitha, are working with the diocese on the project.

The Newman Center has been operating the past four years in temporary space in the Elmwood Commons building on campus. The space will only be available until the end of the spring 2007 semester, so the diocese needed to move forward on the project, said Dcn. Grzeca.

"The university has been very helpful," he said. "They let us have the space, but time is running out."

The new site contains two houses and a third structure. The houses will likely be used as temporary office space for the Newman Center. The ministry hopes to find temporary worship space on campus, said Dcn. Grzeca.

Prior to 2002, the Newman Center ministry was housed in a building on Irving Avenue, which was constructed in 1968. The building became too costly, so it was sold to the UW-Oshkosh Foundation in 2002.

"It was a really big building, 8,000 to 9,000 square feet," said Dcn. Grzeca. "It got to be more than we could afford. The heating bills got to be really high. There was never any sense of getting rid of the mission, but this building needed to be addressed."

Invested funds from the sale of the building will be used for the new Newman Center. Funds were used to buy the property and will be needed for the eventual demolition of the buildings on the site. Fund-raising will be necessary to complete the project.

"The fund-raising component and the remaining funds will be used to construct the building and develop an endowment to staff and maintain the building," said Dcn. Grzeca.

The new Newman Center is not designed to be a parish, he added.

"The diocese is merging some parishes in Oshkosh, so why build a brand new structure?" he said. "We do not want the Newman Center to compete with parishes. Its purpose is to minister to UW-Oshkosh students and faculty. Some people may wonder why they can't go to a local parish. In theory, yes they can, but in reality, no. Most fair people will realize, like it or not, that most college students are not going to make a five or six-block walk to the nearest church. We have to be where the students are. We have to go where people are in their lives. Whether college students will admit it or not, these are formative years where they are coming to terms with who they are. We don't want to miss out on that opportunity to be there for them."

The new Newman Center will be across the street from UW-Oshkosh's Polk Library.

"You couldn't get a better location," said Dcn. Grzeca. "It's perfect how it worked out. We hope to have ground broken in spring of 2008."

"It is a wonderful location," said Courtney Watson, Newman Center director and campus minister. "College students are so overscheduled. Being across the street makes it as convenient as possible for them to come here."

The visibility will help the ministry grow, she added.

"There are a lot of people that don't know about us," she said. "The student lounge will be a place where the Catholic community can gather to grow in faith and for social activities. Having kitchen space will be great. We feed students all the time."

"It will provide us with plenty of room for growth," said Watson. "Other campuses that built new centers saw a rise in numbers."