The home of the SIU Alumni Association, formerly Woody Hall, has a new look and a new name, thanks to a $500,000 gift from a brother and sister who called the campus home decades ago.

“I think this sibling story, of her and me both coming here and having similar work experiences, hopefully that’s something other people read about and get inspired and see there is a lot of opportunity here,” Moller said in a Facebook live interview posted by the Alumni Association.

Moller was promotions director for the SIU Arena when it was booking bands like Van Halen, Foreigner and Billy Squire, Guida sold advertising for the Daily Egyptian.

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The siblings later founded Marketing Werks in Chicago, which had Fortune 500 clients such as Verizon, Bridgestone, Lego and Hershey.

Moller said  they started off in  spare bedrooms of a house in suburban Chicago, and two years later occupied two floors of the Prudential Building downtown. The company was worth $100 million when it was sold in 2013.

Moller’s and Guida’s gift is the largest in the Alumni Association’s history. 

“What a great way to give back,” Moller said.

There are 250,000 Saluki alums in the U.S., 42nd in the nation, Guida said, and the Alumni Center bearing her and her brother’s name is the hub for all those people..

“We felt like the Alumni Center was really doing some really good work in trying to help students out, as well as trying to connect former students with the university,” Guida said. 

The center is housed in Woody Hall, a place the siblings said they remember with affection, especially the “absolute chaos” of the “Woody Hall Shuffle,” standing in long lines during registration periods, leaving to go get permission to take already full classes, and standing in more lines.  

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“There was a certain resilience you had to have to get through it,” Moller said. “Maybe that’s what made us tough.”

Guida said Woody Hall, and the beautiful new center, looks nothing like she remembers.

“It wasn’t exactly a pretty place,” Guida said. “It was well worn.”

As for the new Guida-Moller Family Alumni Center? 

“It’s amazing,” Guida said. “Totally renovated. Clean and nice.”

Moller said the center sends a message that there is life after college.

“We’re proof of that,” Moller said.

Guida said she hopes current students look at it and remember to take advantage of all the resources SIU-C has to offer.

 “Remember, once you’ve made it in your career path, and you have something to give back, it doesn’t have to be the type of gift Scott and I made, but give back to the place that helped you start your journey,” Guida said.

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