Governor Ryan Breaks Ground for New Classroom Facility at UIS

SPRINGFIELD - Governor George H. Ryan today joined Representatives Raymond Poe and Gwenn Klinger, University of Illinois President James Stukel and UIS Chancellor Richard Ringeisen in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new classroom facility on the UIS campus.

"This is a project that has been eagerly anticipated at UIS for many years," Governor Ryan said. "Buildings like this new classroom center are all about our students. This project is a big investment in their future and in the future of the university."

The four-story, 128,000 square foot building will be the largest structure on the UIS campus. The new facility will house 27 classrooms, seven instructional labs, 12 computer rooms and office space. The building will also house the university's admissions offices and will become the primary point of entry for prospective students who visit the campus.

Currently, the university's potential student enrollment is not fully tapped because classroom space is almost completely booked in the evenings. The new center will ease this burden and attract new students to the UIS campus.

Brookens Library, which now houses academic offices and classrooms, will reclaim precious space upon the completion of the new facility. The reclaimed space will allow the library to once again expand its number of volumes and enhance its technology-related services.

Two colleges will relocate when the new building is complete. The College of Business and Management and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will be housed in the new center, freeing up space in those colleges' current locations for alternative uses.

The new classroom center will cost $31 million to construct, paid for entirely by Capital Development funds. The final $15 million for the project was released this fall. The facility is expected to open in the fall of 2004.