CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – As University of Illinois students, attending Fighting Illini athletic events and using the incredible resources of the U of I Libraries made some of the biggest impacts of John and Bonnie Dauer's collegiate careers.
John and Bonnie are supporting both with a collaborative $3 million gift, with $2 million being donated to the University Libraries and $1 million going to the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.
"Over the years, John and Bonnie Dauer have become great friends to this program and to me," said Director of Athletics Josh Whitman. "They have such loyalty and pride connected to the University of Illinois, and they have always been amongst the first to step forward in support of exciting new initiatives to benefit Fighting Illini students – this remarkable gift being the most recent and most prominent example. Our heartfelt thanks to them for packaging two of their passions – our world-class library system and our world-class athletics program – into a one-of-a-kind, transformational gift. Their generosity will change the experience for generations of future students in our program and across our campus"
"As the Main Library celebrated its 100th anniversary, John and Bonnie Dauer had the inspiration and foresight to make a generous gift to the Library's Building Transformation Fund – the engine that will help us renovate our libraries and make sure these spaces serve our students, the builders of the future, for the next century," said Claire Stewart, Juanita J. and Robert E. Simpson Dean of Libraries and University Librarian.
The million-dollar gift to athletics will be used primarily in support of student-athlete academic services and Illini football capital needs. With this gift, the Dauers become members of the Investor's Society, a philanthropic giving association for leadership-level support to the University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics.
"The University of Illinois has been a cornerstone of our lives," said the Dauers. "It's where we met and built the skills that shaped our success. In gratitude for that foundation, we are excited to support the athletic department in enhancing facilities and attracting talent through NIL initiatives. As our teams earn national attention, it is also the right time to invest in the student spaces at the library. These spaces will provide all students a welcoming place to gather, collaborate, and prepare for success both in the classroom, and in their future careers. We hope our commitment inspires others to support the causes and programs within this great University that are most meaningful to them."
Bonnie, who earned a master's degree in library and information science in later years, has worked as a catalog librarian. She currently sits on the University's Library Board of Advocates, as well as the board of trustees of the St. Charles Public Library.
John serves as vice president of SCC Inc. in Elk Grove Village.
John and Bonnie met on the Illinois campus while working in food service at the Illinois Street Residence Halls, where John recruited Bonnie to his cafeteria staff.
Bonnie rushed Phi Sigma Sigma sorority as a sophomore and served as a "little sister" at Sigma Tau and Kappa Sigma. She also was a football season ticket holder all four years at Illinois.
John, who earned a chemistry degree from Illinois, fondly remembers his attendance at Memorial Stadium and the Assembly Hall.
As a huge sports fan, John reveled in the exciting era of the 'Flyin' Illini' basketball team of the late 1980s, while Bonnie remembers the opportunities Illinois afforded to meet people from all backgrounds and cultures.
The two did not date at the time, and it took some sleuth work by John to track down Bonnie's phone number in her hometown of Plainfield, Illinois, following his graduation in 1989. He proposed to her just two days after Bonnie's graduation in 1992 (speech communication). A year later they were married.
