When SIU President Ted Sanders looks out his office window, he will no longer be looking at Greek Row but at a field.

Sanders’ office, including some of his staff, has moved to the Stone Center. The Center, named after Chicago insurance executive W. Clement Stone who donated $1 million to the project, houses the SIU Alumni Association. It also has guest rooms where political leaders, influential donors and Board of Trustee members stay when visiting campus.

Jack Dyer, executive assistant for media services, said the move is being completed in several phases, with members of the Office of the President moving into temporary locations until the needed space in the Stone Center is made available.

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The Stone Center, or Stone House as it is sometimes called, sits off Douglas Drive on the southwest edge of campus. The two-story, tan brick structure surrounded by evergreen trees resembles a New England fireplace inn rather than a building that houses a university president.

The center was shrouded in controversy in the 1970s when then SIU President Delyte Morris had the center built in 1971 with grants and service contracts. Stone saved the project with his donation and as a result the center was named after him.

Colyer Hall will not remain vacant because divisions of Institutional Advancement are moving into the former office of the president.

Institutional Advancement’s umbrella covers several functions of the University and will be consolidated in Colyer Hall.

The Alumni Association housed in the Stone Center will move to the south end of the second floor.

The SIU Foundation, located in a house on Chautauqua Street, will move to the north end of the second floor with some offices moving to the first floor.

Central Development will move from a house on Chautauqua Street to the first floor.

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Electronic Communications will move from a house on Elizabeth St. to the second floor.

University News Service and Special Events and Projects will not move to Colyer Hall.

Tom Britton, vice chancellor for Institutional Advancement, said he hopes the move will be completed by April 1.

Britton’s office has moved from the first floor of Anthony Hall to the south end of Colyer Hall’s first floor.

Britton said the move will allow most of Institutional Advancement to move under one roof.

I will move about 75 percent of the people from the division into Colyer Hall, moving into one location from five, Britton said. We think we can work better cooperatively by being in a single unit.

Britton said the move will make Institutional Advancement more efficient.

We can accomplish some economies of scale, such as one photocopier as opposed to five, and make better use of our resources, he said. It’s important to work more efficiently in a time of reliance of state support.

Institutional Advancement’s move involves a lot of work and many people. Britton said despite the magnitude of the move, he does not expect any employees to be lost in the shuffle. He said he understands the move will not strike all employees as positive and stressed patience.

People tend to like the space they have the best, Britton said. I’ve asked people to suspend judgments for a while.