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June 30 campus cooling update

June 30, 2026, 10:00 am

From: Robert Cramer, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration

To the campus community, 

I want to take a moment to share sincere thanks for your assistance and efforts as we work together to mitigate the impact of a broken chilled water line which has significantly limited our ability to keep campus cool.  

As was shared in the last update, a portion of UW–Madison campus buildings are now closed to the public and are not being cooled as we redirect our capacity to priority areas. Other buildings are experiencing higher than normal temperatures and humidity.  

Importantly, campus is still open and operating. While we remain open, the health and wellbeing of our faculty, staff, students and many visitors remain paramount, and we thank you for continued attention to our updates, designed to promote safety while we pursue our mission. 

Many have asked when we expect this situation to be resolved, and our estimate continues to be one month or more. Buildings, which will be marked by signs and have limited custodial services, are expected to remain closed until the repairs are completed, regardless of outdoor temperatures. 

The UW–Madison community has stepped up and asked how to help. There are simple actions that we all can take to limit the impact and help conserve energy, which include:

  • Turning off lights. 

  • Limiting entry and exit of buildings. 

  • Keeping blinds or window treatments closed. 

  • Not opening windows to outside air (which makes buildings warmer). 

  • Avoiding bringing in window or personal air conditioning devices. (Standard personal fans are permitted.) 

  • Turning off heat generating equipment not currently in use. Please do not unplug shared refrigerators.  

This is a complex set of circumstances, and we have set up an FAQ page, which we continue to update with more specific impacts.  

In general, we ask that you attempt to resolve specific questions at your local level with your supervisor or manager. Alternatively, you may work with your HR rep, dean’s office or directors on more complex questions. In the event you need help on where to turn for information or to resolve a specific issue, please email ChilledWaterConcerns@wisc.edu. 

We’ll continue to provide updates as we have them on alerts.wisc.edu. Thank you again for your assistance and understanding.