ILLINOIS – On May 15, Aurora University announced a “Learning Commons” to replace Charles B. Phillips Library.
AU President Susana Rivera-Mills, Ph.D., presided at an earlier internal groundbreaking ceremony for students, faculty, staff and board of directors. She said construction on the three-story, multi-functional building is planned for a plot along Prairie Street on the school’s southern edge of the campus at 347 S. Gladstone Ave.
Rivera-Mills said, “The Learning Commons is anticipated to open as early as fall 2026, and I look forward to gathering again at that time to celebrate its completion with a ribbon-cutting.” A larger announcement is planned for homecoming October 10-12.
No dollar investment was given, although the sale of the school’s George Williams College campus in Williams Bay, Wis., will help fund the project Rivera-Mills said.
Rev. Mark Woolfington, campus chaplain and pastor at Church of the Highlands in LaGrange, Ill., opened the groundbreaking with a blessing of the event and the project.
“This afternoon marks a new beginning for Aurora University,” Rivera-Mills said. “Today, we symbolically break ground not just on a new building, but on a bold vision for the future of learning, collaboration and community.
“We have envisioned a vibrant, inclusive and flexible space for the Commons – a place where students could access digital resources, receive academic support, study collaboratively and simply recharge between classes.”
According to the president, the Commons will offer 45,000 square feet of student-centered design and state-of-the-art resources. The new space is nearly four times the size of Phillips Library, built in 1962 to replace the former library in Eckhart Hall, Aurora’s administration building.
On the new project’s first floor, an industry lounge will enable students to meet employers in a casual setting. The second floor will hold a tech hub, maker space, content creation space, academic support center and an innovation classroom with medium and large spaces for collaboration. The third floor will house quiet study areas, a testing center, an outdoor terrace, the Doris K. Colby Memorial Archives and Jenks Memorial Collection, which honors the Advent Christian denomination, Aurora’s founding body.
Additionally, new indoor and outdoor dining options will create an inviting space to relax, recharge and connect with the campus community.
Aurora University traces its roots to 1893 when the Western Advent Christian Publication Association opened Mendota (Ill.) Seminary. Six months later, the name was changed to Mendota College. In 1912, after moving to Aurora, Ill., the college was renamed Aurora College. After decades of growth and expansion of academic programs, the institution became Aurora University in 1985.
The university enrolls about 5,900 degree-seeking students. Aurora is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission to award bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees. Alumni include Brandon Johnson, mayor of Chicago.
For more information, call (630) 892-6431 or visit Aurora.edu
Image Caption
A rendering depicts what the Learning Commons to replace Phillips Library at Aurora University will look like. (SmithGroup)
