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A final push is underway to finish naming all of the seats in the Great Hall, the main performance facility in the new center.
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Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts Seat Challenge Announced

August 31, 2026

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MACOMB, IL - - As Western Illinois University prepares for the opening celebration for the Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts (GCPA) on Tuesday, Sept. 15, a final push is underway to finish naming all of the seats in the Great Hall, the main performance facility in the new center. Chicago-area donor Ernie Wish has committed to a challenge gift of $25,000, which will be fulfilled when WIU donors make gifts to name 100 of the remaining seats in the GCPA's Great Hall.

"I have championed the arts and higher education for decades," Wish said. "I have worked with WIU's assistant vice president Thad Dohrn for the last two decades and wanted to support his transition at WIU by making a gift that will provide a spark to ignite support for the Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts and for WIU's students."

As of Monday, Aug. 31, 528 seats have been named through donor generosity. Currently, 205 seats are available to be named by donors. The seats in the orchestra level have all been named, while 96 seats are available on the main level and 109 remain in the balcony.

"Adding an additional 100 named seats would be a great statement of support for WIU's performing arts students and would speak volumes about the commitment to the arts from WIU alumni and the Macomb community," Wish said.

Seats are available for $250 each and will be customized with an inscription selected by the purchaser. Plaques will be permanently installed on the backs of seats, offering a consistent reminder of the donor's generosity.

To name a seat in the Goldfarb Center for Performing Arts, donors can make their gift at bit.ly/GCPA_NameMySeat.

In addition to the named seats, donors have provided more than $4 million to support the facility. Their generosity, ranging from $10,000 to multi-million dollar commitments, has been recognized through the naming of 36 impactful spaces throughout the GCPAs. Seventeen named spaces remain for potential donors.

Wish lives in the northern suburbs of Chicago. In 1955, he began his career with the accounting firm Coopers & Lybrand. When he was named managing partner in 1975, he assumed control of the 10th-largest accounting firm in Chicago, which would climb to the No. 2 spot by the time of his retirement.

A DePaul and University of Chicago alumnus, Wish has long been a supporter of higher education and the arts across Chicago and throughout Illinois. Wish served as chairman of DePaul University's board of trustees and was a civic volunteer for various organizations throughout the city, including the Lincoln Park Zoological Society, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago United Way Crusade of Mercy.

For more information about the Great Hall seats or other GCPA naming opportunities, please contact Patrick Downing, director of development, at pg-downing@wiu.edu or (309) 298-5320.

For more information about the For the W Campaign and to make a gift to support the students of Western Illinois University, contact the Office of Advancement at 309-298-1861, or go online at wiu.edu/forthew.

Posted By: Drew Donahoo (AM-Donahoo@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing