The illustrious public and private universities of Central Illinois present planners with high-quality facilities, cutting-edge scientific and medical research and myriad cultural amenities.
The region offers two of the three University of Illinois campuses plus a satellite medical school, the oldest public university in the state and several respected private liberal arts colleges. All of these are within a three-hour drive of Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis.
Champaign/Urbana
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is considered a “public ivy,” an Ivy League-quality public university. Renowned for its research, U of I spent more than $563 million on science and engineering development in 2009 alone.
For meetings, U of I has 20 capacious multipurpose rooms in its eight dormitories, which sleep between 398 and 639. Venues range from the lower level dining hall and multipurpose room of the Illinois Street Residence Hall, which can accommodate 435 and 360, respectively, to the 285-person Oglesby Pagoda and Trelease Pagoda rooms in the Florida Avenue Residence Hall, to several smaller spaces.
The LEED Silver-certified Student Dining and Residential Programs Building can seat as many as 1,200 for meals and also offers a 550-person multipurpose room.
As a founding member of the Big Ten Conference with one of the best-known sports programs in the country, U of I offers 14 sports-related facilities for planners. The 60,670-seat Memorial Stadium is home to Fighting Illini football, while Illinois Field can seat 3,000 for baseball games. As many as 16,618 basketball fans can watch games at Assembly Hall, while the 77,300-square-foot Irwin Indoor Practice Facility is perfect for multiple sports.
In addition, Memorial Stadium houses several unique event spaces, including the Colonnades Club, which offers more than 15,000 square feet of space and features vaulted ceilings and historical columns inscribed with the names of World War II veterans.
“With the University of Illinois as one of the top research universities in the country, combined with our agricultural prowess, rich engineering history and ever-growing campus, the University attracts a wide variety of meetings and conventions to Champaign County,” says Cory Hatfield, sales and sports director at the Champaign County CVB. “We are a destination where culture and education collide.” PageBreak
Bloomington/Normal
Founded in 1857 in Normal, Illinois State University (ISU) is the state’s oldest public university. School enrollment is approximately 20,000.
ISU’s well-developed conference services department offers planners nearly 200 meeting rooms and event spaces from which to choose. Among the largest venues are Bone Student Center (BSC), with a 3,400-seat auditorium and banquet space for 500; the 3,483-seat Braden Auditorium; and the 14,000-square-foot Brown Ballroom. Sports planners can work with the 10,200-seat Redbird Arena, eight gymnasia and seven outdoor athletic fields. After-hours, groups can socialize at the BSC Bowling and Billiards Center.
“ISU attracts all sizes of groups. The campus can accommodate small to very large groups,” says Rebecca Lee Rich, director of conference services at the university. “We have intimate breakout spaces available all the way to many auditoriums. Our campus is compact and very walkable, which is a big attraction for many groups.”
Just a mile south in Normal’s twin city of Bloomington, Illinois Wesleyan University welcomes groups with a forested campus and a mixture of old ivy-covered brick and cutting-edge modern buildings with a classical feel. The small, highly-ranked liberal arts school offers several event spaces within its Memorial Center student union. Young Main Lounge can accommodate groups as large as 374, while Joslin Atrium can welcome 196, and the Turfler Room can seat 96 for banquets. Presser Hall offers the 550-seat Westbrook Auditorium.
“Illinois Wesleyan offers space for many athletic and extracurricular youth camps over the summer months,” says Tera Lippert, assistant director of residential life and conferences coordinator at the university. “In the past, we’ve had groups from large high school camps of 200 to 400 campers, to interns from some of our local businesses who use our accommodations for the entire summer.” PageBreak
Peoria
University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP) is a rapidly growing center for health study and research.
The school’s newest project, Jump Trading Simulation and Education Center, is a partnership with OSF HealthCare. The center will offer state-of-the-art robotic simulations for medical training. Scheduled for completion in April, the center will welcome medical education-based events beginning later this summer. Facilities will include a conference center with a 250-seat auditorium, a 75-seat lecture hall and classroom space as well as labs and operating theaters. The center is located within a mile of Peoria Civic Center.
“Jump provides large capacity and flexible spaces for multiple disciplines, ranging from operating rooms to outpatient environments,” says Dave Haney, director of strategic communications for UICOMP. “The large simulation center can provide learners with hands-on experiences in a realistic environment. Part of its flexible design allows Jump to create new, temporary learning environments based on needs.”
Bradley University, a private institution, offers a wide variety of event spaces ranging from classrooms and theaters to an athletic coliseum. A few of the largest venues are Michel Student Center ballroom, which can welcome groups as large as 550; Dingeldine Music Center, which can host 400; and the 320-seat Neumiller Lecture Hall in Bradley Hall.
Decatur
Millikin University is a private school with a strong tradition of music, art and theater. Nearly one quarter of the student body is enrolled in the College of Fine Arts.
Groups can be part of that tradition by holding events in Millikin’s arts venues. Kirkland Fine Arts Center is available for rental on a limited basis. Spaces include the 1,903-seat main auditorium; the 167-seat Kaeuper Hall, located in Perkinson Music Center, and the 275-seat Albert Taylor Theatre in historic Shilling Hall.
The largest event space in Richards Treat University Center can accommodate 162.
Millikin also offers plenty to do after the meeting day is over.
“Millikin has a very picturesque campus with Elizabethan architecture and lots of green space for outdoor activities,” says Sarah Shupenus, interim vice president for enrollment. “We have an aquatic center, fitness center, rock-climbing wall, indoor batting cages and golf simulator, all on-site.”
Springfield
Well-regarded among regional public universities, University of Illinois at Springfield (UIS) has a diverse enrollment of approximately 5,000.
UIS offers a number of flexible meeting spaces. Of these, the largest is the 124,300-square-foot Public Affairs Center, which offers a conference center with six breakout rooms on its lower level. The building also houses the 250-seat Brooken Auditiorium. Nearby, the 2,018-seat Sangamon Auditorium has showcased performing arts and welcomed meetings for 25 years. Located within the auditorium, UIS Studio Theatre can seat as many as 350.
Kelly Crumrin was raised in Central Illinois (Clark County, to be exact) and graduated from Illinois Wesleyan in 1998.
