Illini Union

The Student Life & Culture Archives was recently asked to create a small exhibit on the history of the Illini Union for the celebration of Founder’s Day on Wednesday, March 13th.

Dedication of the original building in 1941 completed a long planning process started early in the Twentieth Century.  Interest in a specially built Union building began with the inauguration of President Arthur C. Willard, who appointed a committee to investigate building plans and construction.  The decision to raze University Hall, built in 1871, to make room for the new building was unanimous. Continue reading “Illini Union”

History of the Engineering Open House

“Engineers, as all citizens, have a stake in the future,” Dean Daniel Drucker wrote in his welcome letter for the 1975 Engineering Open House.[1] Echoing this sentiment a year later, he noted the global and societal importance of the work of the University of Illinois Engineering faculty, students, and alumni:

Photo of visitors at an Engineering Open House exhibit, ca. 1959. Found in Record Series 11/1/12.
Photo of visitors at an Engineering Open House exhibit, ca. 1959. Found in Record Series 11/1/12.

Continue reading “History of the Engineering Open House”