UIS announces $2.4 million raised for Student Union

University of Illinois Springfield Chancellor Susan J. Koch announced private gifts totaling $2.4 million earmarked for the new Student Union Tuesday during a campaign kickoff party on campus.

Significant gifts have been received from Dr. Shirley Baer, Jack Dolan, Bill and Mary Schnirring, recent UIS honorary degree recipient Evelyn Brandt Thomas, and Robert and Marilyn Uteg through a bequest.

The 50,000-square-foot Student Union building at UIS is expected to open in late fall of 2016. It will house dining services, a high-end coffee shop, many lounge spaces, and a Student Leadership Center with offices for student leaders and workspaces for projects. A ballroom with adjoining catering facilities will accommodate 350-450 people at banquets and will also serve as conference space. A large plaza for outdoor events will surround the north and west ends of the building. Community members will be able to schedule activities in the ballroom/conference spaces or on the plaza through UIS Conference Services.

The total cost of the project will be $21.75 million. In 2012, UIS students approved a referendum to increase student fees to cover about half of that cost. Learn more about the Student Union project at www.uis.edu/studentunion/.

For more information, contact Jeff Lorber, UIS vice chancellor for development, at 217/206-6058 or jlorber@uis.edu.