Illini Tower has a new general manager, and he has big plans for the building’s future.

Roy Myles and Campus Living Villages (CLV), the company that owns and manages Illini Tower, has already introduced three new scholarships to be offered by the residence hall, each valued at $10,800.

He proposed the new scholarships to CLV to help incoming students who are struggling with financial problems. To Myles, these students are “the best and brightest” and deserve a chance at a college education, no matter their financial situation.

“That’s our mission,” Myles said. “To create a successful journey for students.”

Two of the scholarships will be awarded to international students coming to the University, and the third will be given to a female engineering student chosen by the University organizations Women in Engineering and the Morrill Engineering Program.

Myles initiated the scholarships after noticing the high number of housing applicants Illini Tower was receiving from the students involved in those University organizations.

In addition to the new scholarships, Myles has big plans for the future of Illini Tower, which draw from his experience in the hospitality industry.

Soon after graduating from the University of Wisconsin — Stout, where he was a resident advisor for two years, Myles was employed by the hotel company Marriott. Over the course of two decades, he worked as a general manager for Marriott and Hilton hotel companies.

In 2005, Myles moved to Champaign for a new job and soon fell in love with the town. When a recruiter reached out to him over LinkedIn to offer him a position as Illini Tower’s general manager, he jumped at the chance.

Myles believes his success in the hospitality industry will carry over into his newest career.

“It’s almost identical,” Myles responded when asked if there were any parallels between operating a hotel and operating a private certified housing unit.

He explained that in order to successfully manage a hotel, one must be able to work in a diverse, multi-cultural environment and have strong conflict resolution skills. These attributes, he continued, are especially useful when overseeing the day-to-day operations of University housing.

All of Myles’ goals for his first year as Illini Tower’s general manager stem from his desire to help new students move from high school to college by providing a “great, safe, fun living environment that is focused on education, learning (and) development.” He believes that private housing like Illini Tower can make this a reality.

“Our goal is to help those students coming out of high school into college successfully transition into the college environment,” Myles said. “It’s almost like going from the semi-pros into the pros in football.”

Myles’ drive to create a positive living environment for students made him a perfect hire for CLV, and his early achievements as Illini Tower’s general manager have already earned him praise from the company.

“We look for someone that really is focused on delivering a great student experience and also can deliver great university partnerships for us,” said Kevin Bradt, CEO of Campus Living Villages in the United States.

“He’s outstanding,” said Mark Harries, assistant vice president of operations with CLV. “I could not have dreamed of a better general manager for the property.”

Harries said that the general manager must coordinate and manage the dining, maintenance and administrative staff that work in Illini Tower.

“(To) have all the pieces work well together, you have to have a conductor that understands how the machine works,” he said.

To Myles, private housing should focus on providing students choices; for example, making accommodations for students with specific religious beliefs. However, while private housing may possess unique features that appeal to some students, Myles believes it should act as a complement to University housing, not as a competitor.

Myles sees Illini Tower as currently being in a transition period, especially regarding the age of its occupants. The vast majority of Illini Tower’s residents are freshmen, with the exception of one floor of upperclassmen.

He said he wants to see more students return to Illini Tower after their freshman year on campus, as well as attract more upperclassmen to the building. While students do not always choose to live a second or third year in a residence hall, Myles said it can provide students with additional resources, like in-house dining and meal plans and a comfortable community that they would not receive in an apartment or townhouse.

Myles is optimistic about his first year at the University of Illinois. Even though his job can become hectic from time to time, he loves the work that he does.

“They tell you when you’re a student, ‘When you do something for a living, make sure it’s something you love to do’ … They say 70 percent of people are doing a job they like, but it’s not what they love to do; I love what I do.”

Joshua can be reached at [email protected].