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”

Wallace Hembrough

Wallace Trabue Hembrough
Wallace T. Hembrough
Record Series 41/20/229

Wallace Trabue Hembrough, Jr., native of Jacksonville, Illinois, attended the University of Illinois as a student in the College of Agriculture from 1940 through 1943.  As a freshman, he joined Alpha Gamma Rho, a social-professional agriculture fraternity. He was also a member of Pershing Rifles, a military fraternal organization for college-level students, during his first two years at the University. Continue reading “Wallace Hembrough”