As a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago having returned after many years to a role as a member of the faculty and Director of Distance Education, Gerald R. Stapleton is delighted to have an opportunity to share a little UIC history through the naming of the SLICE2 Pier Campus. The Pier Campus is named to recognize an important chapter in the history of UIC. The University of Illinois at Chicago traces its origins to several private health colleges founded during the late nineteenth century, including the Chicago College of Pharmacy, which opened in 1859, the College of Physicians and Surgeons (1882), and the Columbian College of Dentistry (1891). In 1961, these colleges became the University of Illinois at the Medical Center (UIMC).
Following World War II, the University of Illinois increased its presence in Chicago by creating a branch campus housed on Navy Pier along the shores of Lake Michigan. The campus accommodated primarily student veterans on the G.I. Bill. In 1961, Mayor Richard J. Daley offered a new site in Chicago's historic Near West Side, for a new campus. Named the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle (UICC), the new campus opened in February 1965.
In 1982, the Medical Center and Circle Campus consolidated to form the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). This merger strengthened the University's potential for scholarly excellence, and pushed UIC to Carnegie Research 1 institution status in 1987.
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