Set in the heart of downtown Chicago, a center established three years ago to recruit high-quality students to the UI from the Windy City’s high schools is closing.
Beginning Nov. 1, the efforts formerly concentrated at the Chicago Center will operate from home.
“This is a very important market for the [UI],” said Erin Bloomquist, the director of the Chicago Center.
The decision to close the center was largely influenced by budget constraints. UI officials determined the cost of the physical facility was not necessary to build relationships in Chicago.
Details of the UI’s lease, including cost and length, on the office were unavailable on Tuesday, UI spokesman Tom Moore said.
While the physical space will close down, UI officials will continue to use the Chicago Center’s phone service and online applications, said Beth Ingram, associate provost for undergraduate education.
The office space did not receive many visitors and was eventually deemed unnecessary, she said.
“Most of the traffic was in phone calls,” she said.
But efforts to recruit students from Chicago and surrounding cities will continue.
“We still want students to visit campus,” said Bloomquist, who will work from a home office in Chicago to continue outreach and admission projects. “The focus has not changed.”
Tactics for recruiting Illinois residents will change slightly with the closure. Instead of trying to attract students to a permanent office, officials will focus more on visiting key Chicago-area public schools. Bloomquist will also meet with UI alumni and continue to develop many established relationships.
One-third of first-year UI students hailed from the Chicago area — which also boasts the largest community of UI alumni — the year the center opened, according to a UI news release.
The Chicago Center was also created to help UI graduates find internships and employment in the Chicago area. But that “never really took off,” at the center, Ingram said.
Assistance with job and internship searches is mainly provided by the UI Pomerantz Career Center, a national career center. Officials at the Pomerantz Center traveled 30,000 miles last year to more than 300 different companies to establish relationships. Between 50 and 60 of the companies were based in Chicago.
Officials said they realize the importance of the Chicagoland area to the UI and will continue to work with media, social networking and public relations to communicate with employers, said David Baumgartner, the Career Center director.
The Pomerantz Center has three employees who cover employment opportunities in Chicago. Each of the representatives will acquire a share of the Chicago Center’s loss and officials don’t see a need for additional staff, Baumgartner said.
“We will be stepping up efforts in [Chicago],” Baumgartner said. “Building relationships one employer at a time.”
Officials at the Pomerantz Center also work to bring Chicago employers to campus for various career fairs. Baumgartner said they seek student input, which they consider when deciding what employers to invite.
“We want to bring the types of organizations to campus that students want,” he said.