New UI building to provide more space for students

By Lauren Eichmann

Last May at the Art Institute of Chicago, the University’s College of Business announced its plan to generate a fundraising campaign to provide money for a new building addition to the campus.

On Tuesday, Deloitte, one of the nation’s top professional services firms, and the University officially started the campaign to raise money for the Deloitte Auditorium, part of the new Business and Commerce facility.

“It will be a tremendous new facility,” said Jim Gobberdiel, director of marketing and communications at the University of Illinois Foundation. “The College (of Business) has been in real need for classroom space. This (building) will really help advance them into the 21st century.”

The University’s College of Business, ranked as one of the top business schools in the nation, has not increased its facilities since the 1960s, a press release stated.

According to the press release, the 163,000 square-foot building is estimated to cost $55 million and will feature a 275-seat auditorium. The state of Illinois will provide half of the funding for the project. Although construction dates are not yet set, the building will be located directly west of Wohlers Hall.

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The facility, designed by University alumnus and architect Cesar Pelli, will be environmentally friendly, said George Freeman, director of facilities for the college. Advancements in the heating and cooling systems, building materials and certain features like window design will make the building more efficient and low maintenance. Most windows will feature triple-paned glass rather than double-paned glass, which will allow for the removal of radiators under windows.

“From what we understand, the payback (of this technology) is pretty quick,” Freeman said.

The building, registered with the U.S. Green Building Council, will seek to be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certified at a high silver or gold level, he said.

The auditorium, which will be named after Deloitte, will host speeches and lectures primarily targeted at business students.

Howard Engle, a partner with Deloitte in Chicago and trustee of the Deloitte Foundation, said the company and the University have been discussing the prospect of a partnership for many years out of a mutual interest.

The firm will be encouraging all of its nearly 600 University alumni to donate to the building effort and also doubling all of what Deloitte alumni give to the campaign provided they contribute at least $500 annually over five years, Engle said.

Engle, also a 1972 Illinois accountancy graduate, said his firm feels their donation will be a good investment to ensure intelligent University graduates – who Deloitte may hire in the future.

“The reputation of the University is global,” he said. “We, and lots of other firms, value the talent from Illinois very highly.”

Other corporate supporters of the University and private individuals will also donate funds. A plaque hung in the Deloitte Auditorium will commemorate all those who participated in the project.

Lauren Mistretta, head of the Deloitte public relations firm for the Midwest region, said she hopes the donations will be well received.

“I think it’s a fantastic campaign that’s well overdue,” said Mistretta, a 1996 graduate of the University with a degree in media studies. “With the amount of talent at U of I and the city of Chicago, it’s so important we’re involved in efforts to help raise money and our state universities are staying in competition with the top schools around the country.”

“We’re excited to play a part in making it happen,” Engle said.

The college is a major source of employment at Deloitte, Mistretta said. She said it is important for Deloitte to stay focused on hiring University graduates because they have such a huge impact on the firm.

“This is a real partnership between alumni and the different partnerships they work for,” Gobberdiel said. “They have a lot of (University) alumni working at Deloitte.”

The bulk of the money raised through Deloitte’s partnership with the University will be used toward the construction and furnishing of the new building. However, updates and repairs will also be made to existing business buildings on campus, Gobberdiel said.

Many University alumni and Deloitte employees feel the campaign will have a significant effect on the entire business community.

“It’s an instruction facility that will allow us to create a much greater sense of community,” said Ira Solomon, R.C. Evans endowed chair in accountancy, head of the department and professor of accountancy at the University. Soloman said the building provides the college with not only more space, but also more organized space.

Current business students, in conjunction with prospective and former students, may use the resources of the building.

“We are extremely excited,” Soloman said. “We think it will be a signature building to this part of campus.”

It will be “a home” to all business students in their professional lifetime, he said.