Dear Deans, Directors & Department Heads,
Facilities and Services will begin removing several trees, many of which are structurally unsound or rotted, near the Alma Mater sculpture on Sunday. The area around the sculpture will be inaccessible for periods on Monday.
The removal plan is scheduled for Thanksgiving week to minimize inconvenience for our university community. Please make plans for an alternate walking route if you typically use those sidewalks.
The trees to be removed are the hackberry opposite of the one that was removed previously, just behind the sculpture, and several hemlocks, many of which are dead on top, will also be removed.
The tree removal is part of the university plan to replace and enhance the landscaping around the Alma Mater to ensure the iconic view is beautiful for photographs and visitors for generations to come.
Later this year, the hackberry trees will be replaced with two triumph hybrid elms and the hemlocks will be replaced with flowering dogwood trees which will bloom each year near Commencement, providing a beautiful graduation photo backdrop.
Additional elements of the plan also include beautifying the path from the Alma Mater to the Illini Union. The sidewalk will be lined with several grasses, shrubs and flowers including Kodiak orange diervilla, emerald spreader yew, hydrangeas and switch grass.
Thank you for accommodating this inconvenience. I am confident that this small sacrifice now will ensure that one of our most iconic and trafficked areas is filled with safe and healthy landscaping that illustrates the excellence and beauty of our great university.
Sincerely,
Mohamed Attalla
Executive Director of Facilities and Services
