Steven S. Wymer Hall: Coming 2025
Gies College of Business announced that its new building will be named Steven S. Wymer Hall in recognition of a generous gift from alumnus Steven Wymer.
Steven Wymer, ’85 Accountancy, is a portfolio manager in the Equity and High Income division at Fidelity Investments. A native of Danville, Illinois, he is known as one of the nation’s leading experts in investment management, and he received Morningstar’s 2017 Domestic-Stock Fund Manager of the Year Award for Fidelity Growth Company Fund.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held on April 14, 2023.
Set to open in 2025, this state-of-the-art building will help prepare Illinois students for futures of purpose and impact. A partnership between Gies Business and campus, this hybrid educational facility will be home to much-needed collaboration spaces, traditional and flexible classrooms, informal learning environments, content creation studios, as well as academic offices and support spaces.
Among its features, Wymer Hall will:
- Provide expanded studio space and recording capabilities to serve online courses and programs throughout campus.
- Facilitate experiential learning and group work, as well as offer collaborative spaces for campus students.
- Support enrollment growth with additional and much-needed larger classroom spaces for the south campus.
- Provide needed office space for faculty and support staff in Gies College of Business that have increased to serve growing online programs.
Building space for achievement and growth
Located in the heart of south campus, this building will be home to spaces that will enable learners – both on campus and online – to achieve their potential. At just under 100,000 square feet, it will include:
Classrooms
- 1 auditorium that seats 200
- 2 classrooms that seat 80
- 4 classrooms that seat 60
Studios
- 2 sound stages (40’x40’)
- 5 blackbox studios
- 6 control booths
Offices and meeting rooms
- 18 meeting and collaborative rooms of varying sizes
- 84 office spaces
The leading-edge online teaching studios will bring the educational power of the University of Illinois to the world. Classrooms and gathering spaces will provide the tools and technology learners need to discover ways to make a positive impact on the world. Flexible classrooms will allow quick transition from a lecture format to collaborative group interaction.
The new building will be located at 503 East Gregory Street in Champaign, between the Business Instructional Facility to the east and Huff Hall to the west.
Proposed Timeline
