Southern Illinois University Carbondale celebrated the opening of the new Hamilton Hangout at Mae Smith, a residence hall on East Campus, giving students a new place to gather, connect and build community.

The student recreation and gathering space was made possible by a $25,000 gift from alumni Chuck and Tracy Hamilton.

University leaders, students and members of the SIU community joined the Hamiltons to celebrate the completed space, which encourages students to leave their rooms, connect with their peers and build friendships.

The Hamilton Hangout, located within the College of Health and Human Sciences Living Learning Community at Mae Smith, features arcade and video games and gives students a dedicated place to gather and recharge where they live.

For Chuck and Tracy, seeing the finished space was also a homecoming. More than three decades ago, the towers were where they lived and built lifelong friendships.

“We’ve used the word ‘surreal’ a couple of times,” Chuck said. “Certainly nothing we would have imagined as an 18-year-old college student, to think you’d be back here later in life.”

An idea that came from students

The Hamilton Hangout grew from conversations between students and Dr. Robert Morgan, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences.

The college has continued to invest in its Living Learning Community at Mae Smith, working with Housing and Residence Life to create an environment that supports students academically and socially.

During an event on the Mae Smith patio, Morgan asked students what would encourage them to leave their rooms and spend more time connecting with one another. Gaming and recreation quickly emerged as a way to bring students together.

Morgan shared the concept with the college’s advisory board, and the Hamiltons saw an opportunity to help create the kind of community they remembered from their own years in the towers.

“This is about much more than a gaming space,” Morgan said. “It is about creating an environment where students want to be, where they can connect with others and where they feel a sense of belonging. Those experiences matter, and they are an important part of helping our students thrive at SIU.”

Dr. Jeffery Burgin, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the partnership demonstrates how experiences outside the classroom can complement students’ academic lives.

“We are here to assist in the full academic and social development of our students so that, wherever they go after graduation, they can contribute significantly to their communities,” Burgin said.

Where their Saluki story began

The Hamiltons understood the importance of that sense of community because they experienced it themselves.

Chuck arrived at SIU from Geneseo, Illinois, drawn by the reputation of the university’s aviation program. Tracy came from a community outside Memphis, Tennessee. She initially studied radio and television before switching to education.

Chuck lived in Mae Smith, and Tracy lived next door in Schneider Hall. Both participated in Greek life, and they first met at a Greek event during Chuck’s sophomore year and Tracy’s freshman year.

They walked back to the towers together that night but went their separate ways. About a year later, they reconnected. They have been married for more than three decades.

“SIU brought us together,” Chuck said. “We have a strong passion for SIU and what it’s done for us.”

Their time in the towers gave them more than their relationship. It created friendships they still maintain today.

“I came with four or five people that I knew, but when I left, I had a family,” Tracy said. “We still keep in touch with college roommates.”

That experience became central to what they wanted the Hamilton Hangout to offer students.

“I think it goes back to what I was talking about. It feels like home,” Tracy said. “It feels like friendships that turn into family.”

SIU experiences that lasted a lifetime

SIU also helped prepare the Hamiltons for their professional lives.

Chuck earned degrees in aviation flight and aviation management, while Tracy earned a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education in 1994.

Their student worker jobs in university administration gave them early professional experience and kept them connected to campus. They also volunteered through Greek life, supporting blood drives and local charities.

After graduation, Tracy began her career as a pre-K teacher. Chuck completed internships with United Airlines and St. Louis Lambert International Airport.

Both eventually joined State Farm, where they have worked for about 30 years. They now work from the company’s regional hub in the Dallas area.

The couple credits SIU with giving them the education, scholarships, professional experiences and relationships that helped launch their lives after college.

“SIU set us off on the right foot,” Chuck said. “Hopefully this will be one small thing that sets future generations of Salukis off on the right foot, too.”

Creating community for the next generation

SIU announced the Hamiltons’ $25,000 gift to the College of Health and Human Sciences Development Fund during the 2025 SIU Day of Giving, but their connection to the annual fundraising event began years earlier.

Chuck credits the “Carbondale in the ’80s and ’90s” Facebook group with building grassroots enthusiasm for Day of Giving among alumni from that era. That momentum encouraged the Hamiltons to support areas of the university that shaped their own experiences, including aviation, education and Morris Library.

“The ’80s and ’90s group built some grassroots support around the Day of Giving,” Chuck said. “That really started the energy around Day of Giving.”

As more colleges, schools and programs became involved, the Hamiltons continued to find opportunities to support areas that held personal meaning for them.

“It was just the little things where we spent time that we felt were important,” Chuck said.

When the opportunity to support the Hamilton Hangout emerged, the couple saw a natural connection between their Day of Giving tradition and a project rooted in their own SIU experience.

“When the Hamilton Hangout opportunity came, it just made sense to align it around SIU Day of Giving,” Chuck said.

The gift brought together several parts of their Saluki story: their commitment to giving back, Chuck’s connection to Mae Smith and the friendships they formed while living in the towers.

The Hamiltons also recognize that building community can look different for today’s students. With phones and laptops making it easier to spend time alone, they wanted the Hamilton Hangout to give students another reason to interact face to face.

“We really wanted to bring that sense of community and give the students a space to do that, to just hang out,” Chuck said. “Get out of your room. Maybe get away from your phone for a minute and hang out with some other students.”

Tracy said the connections students make where they live can also help them feel at home at SIU.

“I think it’s a good retention tool,” she said. “We want to make those new students feel at home and want to stay and have that Saluki spirit.”

The Hamiltons hope those everyday interactions lead to friendships that extend far beyond a student’s time at SIU.

“I hope they sense that community and that they build friendships that last throughout their SIU career and beyond,” Chuck said. “Hopefully down the road, they’ll have a memory of their time in Mae Smith, just like we have our memories of the towers.”

Building momentum for Imagine SIU 2030

The Hamiltons’ gift adds to the momentum of the Imagine SIU 2030 fundraising campaign, which has reached more than $485 million in commitments toward its $500 million goal. With two years remaining, the campaign has achieved 97% of its goal and remains one of the largest fundraising efforts in Illinois public university history.

During the most recent fiscal year, the SIU Foundation awarded a record $6.9 million in scholarships to more than 2,200 students, benefiting nearly 19% of the student body.