D'oh! No Cudahy Funding For UWM Engineering School

Great reporting by Tom Daykin: philanthropist Michael Cudahy says no dough for the new engineering school on land UWM has already bought from the cash-strapped county government.

That's a stunner: I thought the campus out there on the County Grounds was to bear his name.

Is this Cudahy's response to his failure to promote a new UWM School of Freshwater Science next door on the lakefront to his water industry museum, Discovery World?

Cudahy says "no."

I remember when Discovery World/Pier Wisconsin was on the drawing board some years ago, and when the initial, over-bearing design was nixed, Cudahy withdrew the plan entirely and said he was done with project sponsorship in Milwaukee.

After a while, a new design was approved through a competition, and Cudahy graciously returned as the building's funder.

I'm not sure if the same scenario will play out, but for now, UWM will have to do some fancy footwork and fundraising to make sure it hasn't bought a pig in a poke.