Celebrating a century, the Iowa Memorial Union launched its 100th year anniversary festivities with an open house Friday, featuring building tours, free food, and several other activities to celebrate the centennial and future renovations to the building.
Students, faculty, and alumni were in attendance, participating in a range of free activities and getting to view multiple renderings of the $81.4 million future IMU renovations. Bill Nelson, associate dean and executive director at the IMU, said he was excited for the engagement with renovations.
“It’s just a celebration of the University of Iowa community, because this is a building for the entire UI community,” Nelson said.
The renovations were voted on and approved by the Iowa Board of Regents, and supported by a majority of the student body according to Nelson, with the UI’s Undergraduate Student Government getting the opportunity to see the renderings at a meeting last week, which includes a patio connecting the Iowa Memorial Union to Hubbard Park and a “Vendor Lane.”
Leah Martin, a third-year student at the UI, and several other students in attendance at the open house were pleasantly surprised to learn about the renovations and were excited to see what the renovations were aiming to achieve.
“My roommate is running the coffee truck, and it’s just something for homecoming,” Martin said. “We’re going to be graduated, but I’ll miss it.”
Students were also excited about the free activities provided, including the Bloom food truck from Williamsburg, Iowa, which is on campus every Monday. There were also trucks for coffee and Mexican food.
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Sadie Vannieuwenhoven, a second-year student at the UI, was drawn in by the several food truck signs as she was coming back from class.
“I love seeing all the food and all the little cutesy things,” Vannieuwenhoven said.
First-year students Katie Nims and Lily Eyrich said they heard about the event through its advertising of free food. Students who arrived early enough were able to get free tickets at the welcome center to use to purchase certain items from the food trucks. The event also featured a caricature artist, service dog, and a photo booth.
“We just walked by the food trucks and then we came to get acai bowls,” Eyrich said.
Nelson also emphasized alumni involvement, with several alumni in attendance at the event, taking tours of the IMU and getting to talk about the renovations with Nelson.
Many alumni had yet to see newer parts of the IMU, such as the esports arcade, the residence hall showroom, the new bookstore, and the food pantry spaces – all of which will remain untouched during the new renovations, Nelson said.
“Another part that is exciting to me is that there are parts of the building that aren’t going to change and that are new from someone who hasn’t been back,” Nelson said.
The first phase of the renovations is expected to wrap up in late August 2026, with the second phase slated to end a year later in 2027. Renovations to the Wellness Center on the first floor, the exterior southern entry, and the River Room all had available renderings for attendees to view.
“We want to engage with our alums. We want to engage with our campus partners that are here with us,” Nelson said. “We’re working really hard on the first phase,” Nelson said. “It’s for all of us.”