By: Alec Busse
March 28 is the 100th anniversary of W-ILL, the on-campus radio station at the University of Illinois.
Originally, W-ILL was called WRM and it operated for 30 minutes every Thursday night. Weekly shows offered "short talks by prominent people on the campus, and university announcements," according to a newspaper account from 1922.
In 1925, the radio station expanded after University of Illinois President David Kinley received a message from Noetius H. Sullivan, a Chicago businessman. Sullivan was looking to make a significant donation to the University of Illinois in honor of his father, who had passed.
Sullivan was looking to donate the funds, so future students would be able to experience educational opportunities, and after a process,
the university was eventually able to accept the gift and nearly 100 years later, students are still participating at W-ILL.