After half a decade of planning, the Petrick Idea Center is breaking ground on Tuesday, April 15, 2025.
The entirely donor-funded 14,875 square-foot addition to Ames School of Art & Design will bebuild a new hub for entrepreneurship at Illinois Wesleyan while improving some facilities at the School of Art.
The original plan called for a larger facility that would include new student dorms to replace Gulick Residence Hall, but following renovations to MunsellMunsull and Ferguson dorms, the new residence spaces were scrapped in favor of a plan that could begin construction and start benefiting the campus sooner. The Petrick Idea Center will include an amphitheater, 3D printers, last cutters, sewing and embroidery machines, audio/video recording and editing spaces., Coordinators aim to open by Fall 2026.
“We are thrilled to break ground on a project that will unite the creative and innovative minds across diverse fields on our campus. The Petrick Idea Center will undoubtedly give Illinois Wesleyan a competitive edge, reinforcing our commitment to become one of the premier entrepreneurial liberal arts universities in the nation,” President Sheahon Zenger said.
Students can spectate the groundbreaking ceremony west of the Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art and Design at 11 a.m.
