Opened in Fall 2021 on the campus of the University of Illinois, the Campus Instructional Facility (CIF) is a 124,000-square-foot building featuring innovative designs and the latest in classroom technologies to support active teaching and collaboration. Spanning five floors, the CIF offers capacity for over 2,400 students and features 23 flexible learning classrooms tailored for small group discussions, student engagement and peer-to-peer interaction.
The facility includes collaboration spaces on every floor as well as well as an inthe-round classroom that is designed to foster a more intimate setting for lectures. One of the key features of the building is the Monumental Study Steps, a twostory open study space for students to meet with groups or study individually. The centerpiece of the area is a large-scale LED video wall from Planar. Installed by AV designer and integrator C.V. Lloyde Audiovisual, the display is massive 36-footwide, 14.5-foot-high (18x13) Planar® TVF Series LED video wall with a 1.8mm pixel pitch (TVF1.8).
“The CIF is a very dynamic and unique space and the video wall at the Monumental Study Steps has contributed to the dynamic atmosphere of the building,” said University of Illinois CIF Manager Eric Vetter.
A Multitude of Uses
According to Vetter, the primary, day-to-day application of the Planar LED video wall is to serve as a digital message center for student communications including highlighting news and events taking place in the CIF and around campus. In the evenings and weekends, the video wall provides a vibrant canvas for Fighting Illini and Big Ten sports in addition to other types of programming and special events.
The Monumental Study Steps functions as a hub for large events and Vetter said the ability to use the Planar video wall as a backdrop presents a great advantage. Additionally, by routing classroom camera streams and content to the video wall, the space can be used to support class overflow. “We’ve also hosted end-of-semester class sessions in the Monumental Study Steps with students presenting projects on the video wall,” Vetter said. “People can connect wirelessly and the display has multiple configurations. The Planar® WallDirector™ user interface makes it easy to create a custom layout on the fly.”
The CIF is certified as LEED Platinum owing to several energy-efficient and sustainable designs. Among these is a geothermal exchange system, which lowers the energy demand to heat and cool the building. In the future, Vetter envisions incorporating a live energy dashboard on the video wall to display real-time data associated with the geothermal system.
“We continue to find new and unique ways to use the video wall,” he said. “The size of the display combined with the crisp image brings a great ‘wow’ factor.”
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
