Campaign Priority A University at the Heart of Illinois

A deeply felt energy sustains these 9.9 square miles of fertile land ripe for endless discovery, innovation, and continuous excellence.

Twenty students comprised the first graduating class of what was then called the Illinois Industrial University. Over the last century and a half, those twenty were joined by hundreds of thousands of Illini, each one contributing to our character and spirit.

Our students, our faculty—even the buildings that define our campus—are at the core of what makes Illinois special.

We feel alive when cheering on the Fighting Illini or posing with Alma Mater, researching in the fields or digging deep in the library stacks. Students come to campus from nearly every county in the state. After graduation, they bring their expertise in business, health care, education, and technology back to communities across Illinois. Together, we’ve made this university a dynamic hub of economic and intellectual activity in the state of Illinois.

While the experience is different for every person who passes through our campus, the ethos of Illinois endures. The passion and the curiosity. The courage and ambition. The knowledge that the heart of Illinois lives within each of us.