Plans for the $15 million Alice Campbell Alumni Center on the Urbana campus were unveiled at the UI Board of Trustees meeting Feb. 12 in Chicago.
The center, being funded entirely by private donations, will be located adjacent to the Hallene Gateway Plaza, just east of the new Admissions and Records building. The main entry will be off Lincoln Avenue with a circular drop-off area. California Street will be closed.
The building, which will become the corporate offices for the Alumni Association, is designed to complement the brick-and-limestone Georgian architecture that predominates on the Urbana campus.
The three-story building will comprise 54,000 square feet, with a reception gallery, library, conference rooms, lounges, administrative offices and a patio for outdoor activities.
The trustees also elected Lawrence Eppley chairman of the board, replacing Gerald Shea, who resigned in December. Eppley was appointed to the board in 2001. A lawyer with the Chicago firm of Bell, Boyd and Lloyd, Eppley earned his bachelor’s, master’s and law degrees at Illinois.
The three new trustees appointed by Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Feb. 10 were at the meeting: Devon Bruce, a lawyer with Power, Rogers and Smith and a graduate of the university and the College of Law; Niranjan Shah, co-founder of Globetrotters Engineering Corp.; and Robert Sperling, an Illinois graduate who is a lawyer with Winston and Strawn. The appointees, who must be approved by the state senate, will fill seats vacated by Shea, Susan Gravenhorst and Roger Plummer.
Trustees serve six-year staggered terms. The governor is an ex-officio voting member of the board. Three student trustees also serve on the board, with one having an official vote.
In other business:
- The trustees approved a proposal changing the name of the College of Commerce and Business Administration on the Urbana campus to the College of Business.
- A resolution authorizing the sale of farmland contiguous to Allerton Park was postponed at the request of UI President James J. Stukel. Stukel said there was some confusion about the proposed sale, and he wanted to ensure that the public has adequate opportunity to raise questions and voice concerns before the trustees act on the matter. Trustee Thomas Lamont said that he would like to see the issue concluded promptly. Stukel said he intends to reintroduce the issue at the trustees’ March meeting.
- The trustees approved a proposal authorizing the Urbana campus to sublease the fourth floor at the Illini Center in Chicago effective April 1, 2003, through July 31, 2007. The space will accommodate specialized classes offered by the College of Law as well as the Executive M.B.A. and Office of Continuing Education programs, which will vacate their current spaces on the 39th floor.
- JSM Management was approved as developer of the East Campus Commercial Center (ECCC) at Urbana. The development will include commercial space on the first floor and residential space on the upper story, restoring services and residential spaces along the eastern edge of campus that were supplanted by the university’s expansion. The development, to be privately constructed on university-owned land, is to be erected at the southwest corner of Gregory Street and Oregon Street.