My favorite memory of the Circle would have to be the marketing campaign we held for the 2008 Honda Accord Coupe led by professor David Koehler. Even though it was freezing outside, we were able to get hundreds of students and faculty to join in the fun, food and games.
Alexander Michael Cantu ’08 CBA
Sitting in professor Sam Fox’s business law lecture class and extolling how great the World War II returning veterans were as students; this while anti-war demonstrations were frequently going on at the campus. Sitting in the outside Oval in the warm weather.
Charles R. Waak ’71 CBA
Operating the switchboard for telephone between rooms; opening all the bedroom windows hoping to catch a breeze to cool off; trying to make the cafeteria before it closes; studying late in the library and trying to stay awake; taking the bus home every weekend I could; drinking tea to stay awake studying while my roommate slept; passing the last class to graduate; standing in the auditorium hearing graduates of 1965; meeting my roommate who was handicapped and in a wheelchair – we became great friends; writing letters with every free moment to my fiancé on the Southern Illinois campus.
Janet T. Hutton ’65 AHS
I don't know how to start and what to skip as all places seem permanent in my memory lane. But the best memory of all of them is the cafeteria at the College of Business building. I still relish the exotic atmosphere there and a view to the adjacent buildings and passing blue trains across the street.
Amandeep Samant '02 CBA, MS '04 CBA
I remember using the swimming pool and sauna as my "secret" way to relax. The pool was never overcrowded, and I spent many hours there between my day classes and my night classes.
Anne Sromek ’02 CBA
Student government in the Student Union; gym classes at Navy Pier; the debate team offices in University Hall 20th Floor; wind on the ram under University Hall; taking the “L” to school; the “Shelf” and pitchers of beer; the riots following the death of Martin Luther King; Action party, Tony Podesta, Andy Dolan and Deb Benjamin; the McCathy campaign on campus; lunch in the Pier Room.
Dr. Peter A. Andersen ’69 LAS
My BA from LAS was awarded in June 1970. I was 35, an “old” student, unusual then. Course by course I was finishing an interrupted degree program. I did not have student friends – what I had was the delight of ideas not related to children and the excitement of an architectural gem, a perfect expression of the time; a gathering place to mark Martin Luther King’s death; the anticipation of exploring the art and architecture building; the please in the “I”-shaped bricks goofy things like memorizing my SSN as I wandered empty buildings (slated for demolition?) to register, and of course the satisfaction in the quality of instruction; the campus was a new thing – hopeful in its way, a celebration of an exciting city.
Lois Kavanagh ’70 LAS
Moving from Navy Pier to the Circle; Dr. Peltas of the German Department (he let me write a paper on Luther); having to graduate from summer school; the elderly lady majoring in speech amid all us younger students; going to our German professor’s house for a snack, party or dinner.
John H. Wilson ’67 LAS
Martin Luther King assassinated and Chicago’s West Side burned; raising funds for homeless people; anti-Vietnam protests; Bobby Kennedy assassination; Chicago Democratic Convention protests; working for Eugene McCarthy; Chicago 7 Trial; working at the Chicago Seed as a book reviewer; playing bridge in the Union; listening to the complete plays of Shakespeare in the library’s media room.
Kathleen de la Pena McCook ’69 LAS
The popularity of Tootsie Roll Pops in spring 1965, when the candy counters in the CC center opened. They cost two cents and we could barely keep enough in stock, especially chocolate (I was on the initial candy counter staff); at the Homecoming concert in October 1966, the comedian who preceded Chad Mitchell (David Steinberg, I think) used my economics text book (Samuelson, 2nd ed.) as a prop in his routine (I was chair of the Homecoming Committee that year); getting Judy Collins a cup of coffee in the kitchen of the CC Center dining room before the Oct. 1965 Homecoming concert (I was in charge of the concert); hanging out on the exedras; studying until 9 p.m. in the new library; during my senior year (’66-‘67), the ongoing pinochle game in the CC Center cafeteria that began at 7:30 a.m. and lasted until 4:30 p.m. M-F; players drifted in the and out, but I stayed at the same table; renown senior faculty brought to UICC – history – John Wolf, an expert on Louis XIV and political science; Herman Finer, an expert in comparative government; favorite faculty: P. Craig Smith, Karl Schleanes for history; Melvin Holley, also history.
Dr. Mitchell E. Rubinstein ’67 LAS
A fascinating criminology course; steps, steps and more steps.
UICC Alum
Great teachers, great education at a low cost; anti-war speakers 1970; Jake Morowitz of the SDS; snow falling on me from upper level; great Italian food on Halsted North of freeway; the “Upside-down Building”; bowling; bookstore; Greek restaurants Halsted and Madison; marching against Cambodian invasion; computer cards for courses.
Frederick Vinson ’70 LAS
My graduation, June 1969. The most successful dinner-dance with the Greek Club; it took place at St. Demetriy Church, with 800 people attending. I was the chairwoman of the event. The head of the department of multicultural events was astonished. I remember the last talk in the cafeteria with all young Greek boys getting together and some girls talking, just having fun. I remember the huge lecture halls and walking from cars to classes. Also, the weekly tests in biology and, most of all, the friendliness of the teachers with the students
Helen C. Georgopoulos
’69 LAS
Convenience to the campus – great location! Excellent instructors/professors; closely ethnic neighborhoods/relationships with University; easy scheduling of classes in addition to having to work part-time; diversity of classes offered; enjoyed being student with other older students; as American Literature major, very much appreciated professors who were dedicated with impressive backgrounds; good counseling with class choices; professors/instructors demanded high standards from students – no easy A’s!; great overall experience, even when University was in its embryonic phase.
UICC alum
Bouncing trampoline in the old Bank Building with friends; studying for anatomy finals at night with cadavers requiring origin, insertion, action; anatomy finals – stick pins on muscles; Mrs. Thomas, PE teacher/advisor, taking the gymnastic team to her cottage overnight on a trip for a meet at Purdue; Erna Wachtel, gymnastic coach and former Olympian, who coached at UIC from 1966-70; lunch in the Coles; eating Italian subs from a grocery store west of school; exploring Maxwell St. with friends during breaks; trying to get to class from Bank Building across campus; taking the Dan Ryan expressway while trying to make 8 a.m. class; first classes to completely graduate from UIC.
Roberta M. Polikwoski
Bus ride to gym classes at Navy Pier and its “aroma”; Omega Beta Pi Fraternity (pre- med) Beanels; staff at the Student Union; riding the “El” every day for years! Graduation day! Demonstrations at the amphitheater; Timothy Leary on campus; bowling as a class! Chemistry 112 (I still have no idea what it was about!); being a James Scholar.
Sam J. Sugar
MD ’68 LAS, MD ’72 COM
Listening to the seamen on the ships parked outside the classrooms, speaking in so many foreign languages; water leaking in the hallways from a heavy rain or melting snow; warm spring mornings sitting by the lake studying; I was only at the Pier for my freshman year, 1963-64, and I’ll never forget the sadness and fear when we heard JKF was shot and killed in Dallas on Nov. 22.
Brian J. Silverman
’68 BUS
My favorite memory of my years at the University of Illinois Circle Center has to be the blizzard of January 1967. The snow began falling in the afternoon. By the next morning we had 26 inches of snow in 24 hours. Then the winds started creating a blizzard. The highway and street departments were unable to keep up. All the roads were closed. The only thing moving were the trains; some of us took the train to the loop. The crews had been working all night with heavy equipment, taking the snow to the lake. Most of the loop was eerie. There were no cars, but the streets and sidewalks were completely clear! We returned and walked around campus and on the area streets. On the major streets such as Halsted and Damon, multiple cars were buried under deep snow. The striking sight was multiple city buses deeply immovable under snow and ice, but the engines running and the drivers in their seats. Many received overtime for the 48 hours or so they remained at their posts. The cars of the students parked along Wolcott, and others impossibly buried under mountains of snow. Most would not move for seven to 10 days. The city was literally paralyzed for three days. As students we were extremely disappointed at missing gross anatomy and physiology labs and lectures, but persevered playing in the snow.
Dwain C. Illman
MD ’70 COM
Mickey Mouse clock on Racine Ave. building; long lines to register for classes – no computers! Homecoming game at Soldier Field against UW-Whitewater, which we lost! Big snow in either1967 or ’69, and classes cancelled.
Robert E. Marsh
The Royal Order of Excedra Sitters; the yearbook staff and putting it together; the parties that the “Sitters” had; moving from Navy Pier to the “Circle;” eating lunch in the neighborhood; shopping on Maxwell St.
Roza Berlinski Gossage
’68 LAS
Pier Room; afternoon dance mixers; TV lounges (Channel 7); swimming requirement was cancelled; Black Panther party rallies; black student organization; French classes; Behavioral Science Building (BSB); good charbroiled hamburgers in the cafeteria; golf class; graduation at Chicago Stadium.
Barbara M. Jones
’70 LAS
Packing chemistry equipment to move from Navy Pier; the incredible “newness” of the Circle Campus; needing a map to find classrooms at Circle; missing the Pier and its old elegant parts; spent one semester (fall 1964) at the pier – admired the professors; spent one semester (winter 1965) at Circle Campus; transferred to Medical Center and Circle Campus; thought the administration building very odd looking; wore one of those paper dresses to class one day and the books tore it apart by mid-afternoon.
Pauline J. Kock
Registering for the first time in June 1966 at a brassiere factory on the other side of the Eisenhower Expressway. I had married the year before, been out of school and was starved for it; buying up my stack of shiny French novels and absconding with them to my apartment in Evanston; not a “fond” memory at all, but arriving in class the morning after Charles Speck murdered the student nurses (summer ’66); doing my homework on the “El” – I first commuted from Evanston and later from Cicero; meeting new friends in my education classes with Dr. Morris and Dr. Monroe (George); buying my lunch from the machines in the basement of University Hall and eating it while I read for my afternoon classes; enjoying Circle’s amazing architecture every morning; walking past Hull House on a regular basis; receiving my B.A. (French) at the Chicago Auditorium on W. Adams St. on Sunday, June 16, 1968; having “B.A., University of Illinois, Chicago Circle” on my C.V. ever since.
Carla J. Graham
’68 LAS
The city’s paralyzing snow storm of January 1967, which closed the University for several days, and the whole metropolitan area; the riots of 1968 and ‘69 on the west side of Chicago. I had to travel through those areas on my way to and from the University; my first registration for classes in January 1966. Since I was entering in on an off quarter (winter) and applied for admissions late, I had to register for classes on the first day of class. The registration for 5,000 continuing students were lost, so I was registering for classes along with almost 6,000 students. The number of students overwhelmed the system. It took me three days to register; being a commuter school at the time and many students working, I did not make any long-term friends. I never developed the ability to make friends quickly; watching the construction of some of the buildings on campus, like the addition to the library; some of the extracurricular activities like playing basketball in the student union and taking swimming lessons, and some of the movies I saw; taking the elective class “Film as an Art Form.” It gave me a very different perspective on films; working as a lab assistant to a chemistry professor and seeing chemical research firsthand was an eye-opener. It was nothing like the movies; for me, the quarter system instead of semesters was great. We finished final exams before Christmas, so the Christmas break was relaxing and we had three weeks off. The quarters were short enough that I wasn’t asking myself, “What did we cover those first six weeks of the semesters?” The material was still fairly fresh in my memory for 10 weeks; there wasn’t strong school spirit while I attended the University, unlike at the high school I attended. I missed that school spirit. There was no on-campus housing at the time, and most students worked. The environment was not conducive to a strong school spirit.
UICC alum
Coming from a junior college and feeling so small in the lecture halls.Whenever any of us would see another junior college person we would embrace like we had found a long lost friend. Crazy professors who thinned classes by giving out extra-hard expectations, then after most had dropped the class they would proceed. The professor who asked on a quiz who smoked big cigars, the physiological psych class where I had to learn all about the human eye while my friend took a class requiring her to learn all the bones in a bird's body (she was in nursing). Drinking my first mixed drink at a professor's home and freezing while waiting for the el. The food court had delicious food including Greek chicken and baklava. UICC was the place to find the doorway to open the whole world for you!
Diann Taylor Symonds
'76 LAS
Standing on a piece of plywood in single digit weather to hear Mayor Daley dedicate the school; beef sandwiches at Vittoni’s on Taylor (much better than Al’s); parking in the neighborhood and having my battery stolen; playing cards in the cafeteria (watching people flunk out who over- indulged); fraternity tables in the cafeteria; Dr. Klee’s organic chemistry class; seeing The Animals, Mitch Ryder and The Outsiders at Friday night union dances; lots of Madras shirts and penny loafers; constant construction the first few years; leaving in 1966 to go to Dental School down the street.
James Arient
’70 DENT
I was in Chicago from September 1964 through August 1965, but I was never actually at the Circle except to sightsee, because I lived in the dorm on Walcott St. and took all my classes in the DMP building. I was interested in how the Chicago Campus area was built pretty uniquely; loved the tours of Cook County; enjoyed going to the “Greeks” for a beer and something to eat with other continuation RV students; enjoyed the great food at the dorms – those ladies prepared the best-tasting food! I was amazed at the huge lecture halls where many of our classes were held; also interesting how, in the old parts of the hospital, there were colored lines on the floor that we were directed to follow to get to the various departments.
Charlotte Golden
’66 NURS
I remember the students taking trays and using them as sleds to slide down the snow-covered stairs in the Center; Bill Raffeld doing ballet with the class at the beginning of acting class; oatmeal in the morning in the Pier Room; the students sleeping in the union the night of the 1967 snowstorm; the white mice escaping in the biology building; all the trees were shorter than I am (5’2’’); students crowding in the TV room to catch “Batman;” the tension on campus the day Martin Luther King died; Dr. Vest reading Chaucer in Middle English to his class; swimming in the Anphce Theater in the Spring.
Linnea Forsberg
’68 LAS, MA ’75 LAS
“Studying” at the Greeks on Harrison Ave.; the horse-draw vegetable/fruit cart on Taylor St.; professor Dan Nonah teaching me the meaning of “Sagacity;” in the Shadows of Cook County Hospital, I discovered Rita, the woman I couldn’t explain. Forty years, four children, several jobs and relocations, and four grandchildren later, she still remains “the woman I can’t explain”…
Jim Pavlacic
’69 PHARM
Hanging out with Helen Hayes and several other drama students, 14th floor, University Hall; seeing Timothy Leary at Circle Center; a visiting production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at Circle Center, which included nudity; seeing Sen. Paul Douglas (D-IL) elucidate his Vietnam exit plan at Circle Center (he lost to Chuck Peray); the wind tunnel formed by the elevated walkway (long gone?), most unpleasant; taking gym class at the former girdle factory on Racine and having ten minutes to shower and get back; the introduction of computerized registration, a seven day process turned into a six week process; filming scenes for “The Mouitors” on the walkway; campus closing early – the great snowstorm of 1967; my first day on campus I did a self-orientation: walked through my class schedule and bought a U of ICC jacket at the bookstore.
UICC alum
The Great Blizzard, going into an afternoon P.E. class “dry” and coming out 45 minutes later into 18 inches of snow! Fencing lessons in the old Scabrous Girdle Factory; the lady who managed the Language Laboratory with an iron fist; having to take a written and oral contemporary theater final exam the day after Bobby Kennedy was shot; the entire class showed up in shock; analytical chemistry professor “Student Gottlieb”, organic chemistry prof. Ron Baumgarten, IDA prof. Edward “Teddy” Minieka; UIC Theater production of Cherry Orchards and Night of the Iguana, exceptionally well done; 1966 – when female students attended class wearing suits and high heels; 1968 – culture changed to jeans, sweats and sneakers! Dad getting my grade reports by mail – fall quarter one always showed up on Christmas Eve! Total frustration with computer programming classes and waiting all night for printouts to be “filed” in; studying in stairwells of SEL (vending machine candy bars cost 25 cents, sharing my crackers and cheese pack with rescued Lab mice “pets!” The “BSBA-PM” program administrative Staff 1985-94, especially Ms. Nowacki.; entomology students filling their entire required “100 different bud collection” on campus! 1970 – received my degree diploma by first class mail; 1993 – received my degree diploma by third class mail; the day all the grasshoppers got loose in the research lab; snakes dropping from the ceiling duct onto bench (surprise!) in SEL (there were notes on blackboards to phone prof. if his critters were found!).The Cell Physiology Lab had any piece of lab equipment worth having; it was advantageous to cultivate the TAs! The Great Hurdle for chem. majors was physical chemistry; for biology majors it was cell physiology. Having tennis classes at 11 a.m. (very hungry) and smelling chocolate chip cookies and chocolate smells from the neighborhood factors. YUM. Barnaby’s Beer and Pizza; I suspect a first date place for many of my generation. For many students coming out of Chicago’s ethic neighborhoods it was a first exposure to culture diversity, classical music and fine arts.
UICC Alum
Sunbathing on the small bench; UI football team went to the Rose Bowl January 1964; President Kennedy shot November 1963; received two special gifts at the end of my first week of school, a dictionary and a string of pearls; I was thirty-six my freshman year. Was a platinum blonde for one week! Made many friends, both students and teachers; the transition experience of going from Navy Pier to Circle Campus was amazing; I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Navy Pier; I have lived within five minutes (walking) of Navy Pier the past 40 years.
UICC alum
Riding a school bus to and from Circle Center each day from the Medical Center Campus; we would walk the 10 blocks down Taylor through Little Italy in nice weather. During the blizzard of 1967 our bus did make it to Circle; on arrival we learned that classes were cancelled. We hopped back on the bus and inched our way to the Medical Center. The wind at Circle’s entrance; it drove a fine grit under my contacts and made my eyes tear; the student nurses registered for class after all other students classes were often filler. We obtained permission from an American Literature professor to overfill his class by eight students, but we had to sit on the floor! My primary campus was the Medical Campus, where I obtained a BS in nursing in 1969. We were required to take sciences and humanities at Circle.
Vada Grant
’69 NURS
The most vivid memory I have about Circle Campus is from the winter of 1977-78. I was a science major, so many of my classes were within the science buildings. That was an extraordinarily cold winter, and I remember walking between the science buildings and how cold and breezy it was between those tall buildings. In fact, that is one of the main reasons I have been living in Arizona for the last 25 years!
Laurecia Dailey-Evans
1976-80
My most vivid memory is Life in the Forum. This was the center of student activity outdoors. We'd go to the cafe and grab lunch, then hang out on the steps of the Forum and watch life walk by. Often we would play hacky sack or frisbee (many times with the cafe lunch trays!) or just bag some rays.
The elevated walkway was the best way to get from one end of campus, usually PEB to UH Building or the Arts Building. Best part was using them for cover in snow and rain.
As I lived in the Gymnastic dorm south of PEB on Maxwell St. (Maxwell St. Market!!!), I often used the walkways on weekends to ride my bike, very fast.
UIC is also where I began my triathlon career in 1985. To date, I have done more than 150 triathlons, including the Ironman (2.5 mile swim/112 mile bike/ 26.2 mile run), and continue to race and coach today.
Though I live in Austin, Texas, today and do not get to visit much, I still have fond memories of UICC, CJ Johnson, the best gym team in the country and a wonderful campus.
Chris Summers
1981-85
I remember taking the "now" Red Line to Grand/State subway station from the South Side and coming out of the station, where students would transfer to an eastbound CTA trolley bus on the Grand Avenue route. A CTA conductor would always be there, opening up the back door of the bus, and when it was okay for the driver to go, he would tap on the back door with his "transfer puncher" and holler, "Okay, Jimmy! We would all laugh and say, "Isn't it interesting how "all" of the bus drivers are named Jimmy!"
George L. Lee
1964-65
If you have any questions, please contact Tiffany Murkey at 312/355-2549 or tmurkey@uic.edu.
Staff Contacts
If you have a question, please contact the Alumni Service Center at 217/333-1471 or 800/355-2586
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