Creating communities that transform lives.
At the core of our purpose is a commitment to enriching the cultural awareness, leadership abilities, academic achievements, social bonds, and sense of social duty among our community members. We achieve this by fostering secure, welcoming, and meticulously managed living-learning spaces that foster personal growth and progress. As a resident, you’ll witness our dedication to inclusivity, community, adaptability, responsibility, and excellence—our ICARE values—echoed throughout our endeavors and within the fabric of our University Housing communities. Explore our values here.
Information at Your Fingertips
We understand your desire to dive straight into the specifics. You have the opportunity to explore them through the options provided. However, before you continue, we’re enthusiastic about sharing further insights into our Mission, which defines our overarching purpose, and our Values, which steer every facet of our efforts. Keep scrolling to learn more about our ICARE values.
Inclusivity
We recognize that University Housing includes a diverse group of students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders, and we encourage all community members to continually seek to understand and learn from each other. We believe all community members matter and provide opportunities for them to share their individual stories. When residents’ needs are not met, we listen to concerns in order to make changes to better UW-Milwaukee services.
We are committed to:
- Challenging ourselves to respect the free expression of all individuals.
- Affirming the dignity of each member in our community.
- Providing a bias-free environment and responding appropriately when an incident of hate/bias occurs.
- Continuously educating ourselves on important issues related to human difference.
- Recognizing the uniqueness of each student, staff, and faculty member.
- Enhancing our community by taking the time to appreciate different perspectives.
Paths to Inclusivity
UWM has been ranked a 5 out of 5 stars on the Campus Pride Index for LGBTQ-Friendly Colleges & Universities!
Inclusive Housing offers an inviting space for students who self-select and self-identify as transgender, gender non-binary, cisgender with gender nonconforming expression, LGBTQIA+, or who have other cultural or identity considerations related to living in the residence halls at UW-Milwaukee and students who identify as allies. University Housing will assign suites, as needed/requested, where students may request any roommate without regard to gender identity or sex assigned at birth.
Students interested in Inclusive Housing should contact us for application details.
Although the default assignment inside suites is single-gender, all floors in all buildings are co-ed by default. However, UW-Milwaukee offers its residents the opportunity to elect to live on a single-gender floor. This preference is made at the time of contract completion. It may be amended up until the start of the Assignment process.
University Housing provides lactating, nursing mothers private rooms located in all four of our residential buildings. Sandburg Hall is the only one with a permanent lactation room. However, all others have a multi-purpose room that may be quickly converted to accommodate residents, guests, and staff memeber who may need them. All rooms have the following features: electrical outlets, a comfortable chair, a small fridge, a lockable door, and nearby running water.
To request use of a lactation room on a short-term or drop-in basis, please contact the Sandburg Service Desk to request access by a member of our security staff. If the request is for a long-term use, please contact the Administrative Assistant to the Director at uh-adminassist@uwm.edu. Please provide 2-3 business days’ notice if possible. Individuals with long-term requests will be provided with access to a key for the assigned lactation room.
Community
Community is at the heart of the University Housing experience. We encourage all members of the University Housing community to share of themselves, their talents, and their experiences with the larger community. We value all of our members, and trust the community is enriched by the contributions of those individual members.
We are committed to:
- Building meaningful and authentic relationships by communicating regularly, honestly and openly.
- Volunteering our time and talent with community organizations both on-campus and off-campus.
- Regularly searching for thoughtful feedback from all members of our community.
- Providing an array of activities for all members to actively engage with each other, whether it be on an academic, social, or professional scale.
Paths to Community
Great if you are interested in: Student Government, Advocacy, community improvement, leadership development, meeting people from across campus
Great if you are interested in: Event planning, diverse interests, working behind the scenes, meeting people across campus
Great if you are interested in: government, law, education, criminal justice, meeting people across campus
Great if you are interested in: Service projects, recognition, leadership development, honor societies, meeting people across campus
Great if you are interested in: Anything! Leadership development, representing your peers, meeting people in your building
Want more information? Check out ads around your building or chat with your Residence Life Coordinator or RA.
Adaptability
We recognize that continual improvement is the hallmark of a successful organization. We value the patience and insight of our community members, as we look to better their residential experience. We encourage all members of our community to keep an open mind when changes are required.
We are committed to:
- Regularly obtaining feedback regarding our departmental practices.
- Examining available information on departmental practices to determine strengths, weaknesses and areas of improvement.
- Changing departmental practices to ensure the needs of the community are met in the best and most-efficient manner.
- Providing flexibility and understanding, when issues arise due to lack of foresight or unavoidable circumstances, to ensure the best possible outcome for those involved.
- Acting quickly and proficiently to matters concerning stakeholders.
Paths to Adaptability
Responsibility
We strive to inspire community members to hold themselves accountable for their work, actions, and words. Members of the community should take pride in their efforts, relationships, and facilities. We encourage community members to take responsibility for their decisions and learn to recognize negative consequences can be an opportunity for growth.
We are committed to:
- Supporting students as they navigate independence in a new environment.
- Regularly reviewing policies and procedures so they best fit the community need.
- Challenging community members to take ownership of their actions.
- Recognizing when community members go above and beyond to show exceptional care and compassion.
Paths to Responsibility
The University Housing Security staffs are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and can be found at each building’s Service Desk, either in-person, or by calling the duty phone (should security not be present at Kenilworth and RiverView).
In order to facilitate a safe, comfortable environment conductive to academics and personal growth, University Housing provides the following services to help residents and their guests stay secure:
- GuestPass system
- Security Monitors
- Locks and deadbolts on room and suite doors.
In addition, University Housing highly encourages residents to program the campus emergency number (414-229-9911) into their cell phones* for fast response in case of an emergency. Regular 911 calls will still go through; however, they are first routed through the Milwaukee City emergency system before being forwarded to the University Police, which affects response time.
*Residents using a cell phone as a primary phone are expected to submit their phone number to the UWM Campus Directory which can be done online using PAWS.
University Housing has Rules and Regulations in place that are based upon a natural concern for the resident’s safety, the safety of others, and one’s surroundings. Residents must comply with these Rules and Regulations as well as with those of the University, UWS 18 Conduct on University Lands which can be viewed here; and with the laws of the State of Wisconsin and US, which are made part of these Rules and Regulations. Changes and revisions of the Rules and Regulations may be made by the Chancellor and are effective upon publication.
For further information, including the University Housing Rules & Regulations please consult the Resident Handbook.
Security Monitors are located in the lobbies of Cambridge Commons, Kenilworth, RiverView, and Sandburg. Residents are required to carry their UWM ID with them at all times in order to gain access into the residence halls. Kenilworth does not require a swipe of the ID to enter the building, though residents may be asked to show their IDs. RiverView will swipe IDs when security is available at the Service Desk. When security is not at the Service Desk, students may proceed to their rooms without swiping-in.
The doors to Kenilworth and RiverView are locked 24 hours a day. Residents of Kenilworth will be designated a key fob to open the door, while RiverView residents may use their student ID. Guests in Kenilworth and RiverView can be buzzed in by Security staff to meet their host in the lobby. Guests must register with University Housing, follow the guest policies (on page 47 of the Resident Handbook) and be escorted by their hosts at all times.
Registration is required for residents’ guests in Sandburg, Cambridge and RiverView. Guests will need to get their picture taken with their host upon arrival to the residence hall.
After submitting a completed pre-registration, stop by the Service Desk of Cambridge, RiverView, or Sandburg with your resident host to pick up your guest pass. If you are 16 or older, you will also need to show a VALID photo ID.
From the time a resident picks up a room key until it is returned, the resident is responsible for the room and its contents, as well as any contract charges. The room key must be kept in the resident’s possession during the contract period and may not be loaned to anyone for any reason. Keys may not be altered or duplicated.
If a resident is locked out, they may call the Service Desk of their building to be let into their room. If the key has been lost, the lock will be changed and the lock-change cost billed to the resident’s University Housing Account. Multiple key-ins can result in administrative fees being applied to the resident’s PAWS Account. Please see the University Housing Resident Handbook for more information.
You will not be charged for your first and second key-ins. Any key in following your second will be charged to your University Housing Account, as indicated below:
- 1st-2nd Key-Ins: Free
- 3rd-5th Key-Ins: $25 each
- 6th Key-In: $25 + $75 lock-change fee + a meeting with professional staff
All room and suite doors are equipped with deadbolts. University Housing recommends that all doors be locked at all times to ensure the security of your belonging.
Excellence
We value the continual pursuit of excellence in all areas of University Housing. Our motivation comes from a desire to provide the best resident experience possible. We will challenge our residents and ourselves to continually develop and grow.
We are committed to:
- Contributing to the on-going development of best practices for residential campus housing.
- Investing the time and energy needed for our facilities to always be among the best in the University of Wisconsin System.
- Encouraging our students to hold themselves to a higher standard by strengthening their efforts both in and out of the classroom.
- Recognizing the achievements of students and staff through both everyday conversations as well as appropriate and thoughtful forms of appreciation.
- Demonstrating pride in our department and campus through the quality of our work and commitment to the campus community.