Repository: UIHistories Project: Dedication - Illini Union [PAGE 6]

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Almost 1,000 students now participate in the planning and administering of the many cultural, social, and recreational programs which the lllini Union sponsors. The Union now provides a cafeteria, a snack bar, waiter-service dining rooms, a vending service dining room, art galleries, a browsing library, two bookstores, 20 bowling lanes, 90 guest rooms, a large billiard room, student organization offices, an information and tour office, a merchandise sales counter, a ticket office, University lost and found service, checkrooms, duplicating and sign making service, lounges, and numerous multipurpose rooms for luncheons, dinners, dances, and meetings.

On February 8, 1966, David Dodds Henry, president of the University, and Mrs. Henry were present to cut the lllini Union's twenty-fifth birthday cake.

In 25 years the lllini Union has more than doubled in size. The east wing of the south building is scheduled for future completion.

Union activity program — the Advisory Committee, the Women's League, or the Men's League? The solution crystallized in 1941: the name of the Advisory Committee was changed to "mini Union Board," which was to supervise the general student program within the building with the aid and cooperation of the Men's League and the Women's League. The following year the Committee on Student Affairs, acting for the Board of Trustees, abolished the Men's League and the Women's League and created the Dlini Union. The merger was complete. In the meantime, on February 8, 1941, the long-awaited building was opened. Appropriately enough, a year later, Eleanor Roosevelt, then First Lady of the Land, was present to cut the cake at the Union's first birthday party. Serving as an integral part of the campus community, the mini Union has expanded as the University has grown. In 1963, a 6.9 million dollar addition was completed which enabled the lllini Union to widen its services and facilities.