When students return to campus for Fall 2025, they’ll find a state-of-the-art learning center built with them in mind. Steven S. Wymer Hall takes learner-centric design to the next level, from its flexible, hybrid classrooms to its intentional collaboration spaces and everything in between.

The nearly 100,000-square-foot facility boasts a 200-seat auditorium, two 80-seat classrooms, and four 60-seat classrooms. Wymer Hall goes so much further than traditional classroom space, giving learners access to new opportunities around almost every corner.

Shared between Gies College of Business and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Wymer Hall will impact generations of learners from colleges and departments all across campus.

Fostering collaboration and community

The Wymer Hall design will encourage collaboration among learners. In addition to classrooms, the first and second floors of the new building will be filled with informal collaboration spaces, conference rooms for more privacy, and comfortable spaces to unwind – all focused on students.

With multiple restaurant-style booths, carefully placed tables and benches, and an inviting student-focused lounge area, learners will have a multitude of options for project work and socializing during their time between classes.

The large auditorium was designed specifically to enhance collaboration and build community among students during classes. The tables will be structured to allow for students to work together more easily with their classmates directly in front of or behind them. The space will also include three sections of accessible seating with height-adjustable tables. And the auditorium’s microphones and acoustical design will enhance the audio experience for students who may be listening remotely.

Similar to the auditorium, Wymer Hall classrooms will be optimized for hybrid learning to engage more students, with small improvements from the classrooms in the already-robust Business Instructional Facility (BIF). These spaces will have the ability to display a larger gallery of online learners, thanks to projectors, and they will also include more cameras to capture additional angles of the physical space for those engaging from home.  

Students will also eventually have access to a landscaped outdoor space on the third-floor terrace, which will overlook the grassy Military Axis (the open space to the south of the building), Krannert Art Museum, and Memorial Stadium in the distance.  

Enhancing experiential learning

One of the many exciting collaborative features of Wymer Hall that will soon be a hallmark of the student experience is the space designed for hands-on, experiential learning. Gies Business places a large emphasis on experiential learning, enabling students to gain experience working directly with clients on real-world projects.

BUS 301: Business in Action is the third course in a four-part cohort series that undergraduates take one year at a time. Facilitated by the Magelli Office of Experiential Learning, BUS 301 is also one of the largest experiential learning courses in the nation. Through this class, the College ensures every undergraduate gains hands-on experience before graduating.

The Magelli Office oversees other experiential learning courses as well, including practicums for various Gies Business on-campus graduate degree programs. The office facilitates more than 150 client-based projects each semester.

“Seeing the students take projects from zero to 100 and watching them overcome struggles – it’s where they do their best learning,” said Susan Quinn, assistant director of the Magelli Office. “Seeing how proud and excited they are at the end of the project, that’s what it’s all about for us.”

With the opening of Wymer Hall, Magelli Office staff members will now work in the same building that houses the signature BUS 301 experiential learning course, expanding opportunities for faculty and staff to work together and support students more easily.

“Wymer Hall offers a physical space that matches the inspirational and aspirational ethos of experiential learning at Gies,” said Kari Keating, a teaching associate professor of Business Administration who serves as one of the instructors for BUS 301. “In BUS 301 especially, our faculty team and the Magelli staff emphasize professionalism. We ask students to show up as their best selves – for each other and for their client. The modern, collaborative vibe of Wymer Hall will absolutely reinforce this mindset.”

Gies Business learners will have access to space intentionally designed for experiential learning and team-based projects, including nine 10-person conference rooms, or “team rooms,” where students can meet with clients or each other in person or online, and one 20-person conference room for professional client presentations.

While these rooms will also be available to Gies Business learners, faculty, and staff outside of experiential learning, the College will prioritize experiential learning in this space to meet growing demand.

“I’m excited for more collaborative and private space for the students,” Quinn said. “We’re hoping this space enables us to bring more clients in to meet with the students in person. When students can meet their clients in person, it can really take the project to the next level.”

The team rooms will surround an informal meeting space where students can socialize and work on projects as well.

“Learning space is integral to lesson design,” Keating said. “We now have new creative possibilities in how we craft curriculum. The clean, contemporary feel, the natural light and views, and especially the flexible furniture and dedicated team breakout spaces that invite spontaneous collaboration – all of that supports our core learning goals: collaborative problem-solving, teamwork, and storytelling.”

Elevating the online experience

Along with all the in-person and hybrid features, Wymer Hall will also enhance Gies Business’ leading-edge online degree experience, including the award-winning iMBA program. And the building will allow colleges across campus to expand their online learning programs while also creating more opportunities for collaboration.

Although the live production studios in BIF have enabled the College to share high-quality course content for years, Wymer Hall will take online learning capabilities a step further at Gies Business and throughout the university. The new facility will feature technology advancements specifically for online learning, including five live studios and six control booths, which will utilize the same broadcasting software used in live sports.

And for the first time ever, Gies Business will use soundstages, which will be available to other colleges and departments as well. The building’s two soundstages will serve as large customizable sets for professors to record their course content. The building will have one media set with a full green screen, allowing for post-production customization on a large scale, and one cinematic set, empowering faculty to move around and interact with their surroundings.

This will give faculty and staff more freedom in personalizing courses, creating a more engaging and authentic experience for online learners.

Driving the future of learning

Wymer Hall’s learner-centric design will propel Gies Business and the university forward as leaders in higher education and experiential learning. This groundbreaking learning facility will expand access to more learners and will enhance the experiences each of those learners receive.

“What excites me most is the sense of integration,” Keating said. “What we teach, the faculty and administrators who team up to teach it, and now where we teach – it all comes together in Wymer.”