Hundreds of people from the local community gathered at NEIU for the building dedication ceremony, which took place on the north veranda of Lech Walesa Hall. The culminating event was the unveiling by Walesa and NEIU President Sharon Hahs of the building's new signage.

A Nobel Peace prize-winner, Lech Walesa is largely responsible for the fall of communism in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. In the 1970s, Walesa worked as an electrician in a Gdansk shipyard and went on to found Solidarity, the independent, noncommunist trade union in Poland. Led by Walesa's vision and courage, Solidarity fought a peaceful revolution for the dignity of human labor in the Eastern Bloc. Because of Walesa and the union's efforts, the establishment of a noncommunist government in Poland was initiated in 1989. The following year, Walesa was elected President of the Republic of Poland, an office he served until 1995. Walesa's election to this post served as a striking victory for anti-communist candidates and led to a succession of anti-communist revolutions in Central and Eastern Europe.

NEIU is strongly tied to the Polish community and is a leading institution of higher education in the United States in the area of student exchange programs with Poland. The University has active educational programs with Warsaw University, the Warsaw School of Economics, Giedroyc College of Communication and Media, and Czestochowa University of Technology. NEIU also works in cooperation with numerous organizations representing Polonia including the Polish American Congress, Polish Roman Catholic Union of America, Polish National Alliance, Polish Women's Alliance, Council of Educators in Polonia, and Kosciuszko Foundation. Additionally, Northeastern Illinois University and the Consulate General of the Republic of Poland in Chicago have organized several educational events to promote academic relations between American and Polish universities.