UI Foundation/UI Advancement Weekly Update 10.15.21

Dear Team:

When you work on a college campus, as most of us do (at least pre-COVID), it’s easy to take for granted what you see around you every day. However, when Homecoming rolls around as it did for UIUC and UIS last weekend, and you see alumni strolling around campus, their excitement reminds us of just how incredible the physical place of the University of Illinois is.

While many would say personal interaction creates the best memories, places can be special, too. As advancement professionals, the relationships we build with donors are often quite rewarding, but the feeling of knowing we played a part in creating a transformational space or facility can be just as unforgettable.

We haven’t spent a great deal of time physically at the University of Illinois in the last year-and-a-half, but that will be changing in the next few months. Whenever you return to campus and have your own personal Illinois Homecoming, take some time to visit and re-connect with some of the spots that make whichever university you work at special for you, even if you’re not an Illinois alumnus. 

The Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette runs periodic columns in which it asks alumni to recall their favorite or most memorable place on campus. So, in that spirit, I am asking you to share what your favorite/most memorable place at any of our three universities is and why. You can use this form to send us your answers, and we will share them on UIF Online. At the risk of offending anyone in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago, or Springfield, I will refrain from mentioning one favorite place, although I have candidates at all three universities.  However, as I have said before, Allerton Park is indeed one of my favorite spots.

Wherever your favorite places may be, I hope you find the time to enjoy one or more of them this weekend.

Best,

Jim

P.S. - A reminder the University of Illinois Campus Charitable Fund Drive is underway through Nov. 17.  There are hundreds of charities – locally, nationally, and globally – to which you can contribute.  Visit the Campus Charitable Fund Drive page for more information or to donate.