A total of $4 million of state funding has been released for the construction of the Center for Wounded Veterans in Higher Education at the University, Gov. Pat Quinn announced at the Khan Annex in Huff Hall on Thursday.

The center, which will be located at 908 W. Nevada St. between Goodwin and Lincoln avenues in Urbana, will serve as a hub for University students who have been injured during military service.

Quinn emphasized the center’s value as a welcoming place for “wounded warriors” at the University.

“We want to build (the center) so that wounded heroes from all over our country can come to a place of higher learning and get the best education imaginable because the University of Illinois is second to none,” Quinn said. “It is very, very important that we make it accessible to all of those who have borne the battle.”

The center, which is under the umbrella of the College of Applied Health Sciences, intends to offer life skills management, counseling, academic and assistive technology services, among others, according to the center’s website. The three-story facility will also serve as a living space for up to 14 injured student veterans. Most of the estimated $12 million construction expenses will be funded through private donations. The building will be named in honor of the Chez family, in recognition of a $6 million gift from Illinois alumnus and U.S. Army veteran Ron Chez and his family’s foundation. And now with $4 million from the state, the remaining $2 million will be covered by institutional fundraising by the University.

Tanya Gallagher, dean of AHS, said that representatives of her college plan to come before the board of trustees at its January 2013 meeting to request approval to start the building’s construction. Jean Driscoll, assistant dean for advancement of AHS, said groundbreaking should take place later next year.

Assistant Secretary of the Army Thomas Lamont applauded the center’s progress.

“To have a facility like this available to (injured veterans) … is just spectacular. We can’t thank the University and the Chez family enough,” said Lamont, an Illinois alumnus and former chairman of the board of trustees. “We know it’s truly the only facility in the country that’ll be able to do this.”

Many members of the armed forces attended Quinn’s announcement Thursday. Travis Dodson, a disabled veteran and junior in ACES recognized by Quinn at the event, praised the initiative.

“I think it’s great the University isn’t trying to make something that only exists on paper. They’re making a tangible thing to actually help,” he said. “I’m very impressed by them trying to help us out.”

The $4 million is part of Illinois Jobs Now, a $31 billion plan started in 2009 to boost economic recovery with hundreds of infrastructure improvements around the state, over $100 million of which has been committed to renovating Lincoln Hall and the construction of the new Electrical and Computer Engineering Building.

Ilya can be reached at [email protected].