Campaign for IIT Surpasses $227 Million

Illinois Institute of Technology celebrated its 125th anniversary last year, and each issue of IIT Magazine focused on the people, places, and things that make Illinois Tech unique. As we reflect on our milestone celebration and continue momentum through the end of Fueling Innovation: The Campaign for IIT, it is these people, places, and things that have ignited our passion to work toward redefining the world in which we live.

Campaign for Illinois Tech
On November 11, 2015, Eric M. Brey [front, center], professor of biomedical engineering, was invested as Duchossois Leadership Professor, an endowed chair funded by University Regent Craig Duchossois.
Campaign for Illinois Tech
Ed Monser (EE ’81), chair of the Armour College of Engineering Board of Advisors, Jadwiga Roguska-Kyts [center], and Carol and Ed Kaplan Armour College Dean of Engineering Natacha DePaola cut the ribbon to officially open the new lab space.

People

So far during the campaign, Illinois Tech has proudly invested 15 distinguished faculty members with donor-funded endowed chairs throughout the duration of the Campaign for IIT in recognition of their academic excellence and leadership. These faculty members advance the university mission through research and enhance the student experience in the classroom while helping to raise the visibility of the university.

Places

A generous commitment for a challenge grant from COL (IL) Jennifer N. Pritzker, IL ARNG (Retired) through the Tawani Foundation is allowing Illinois Tech to begin renovations to the Life Sciences Building—a vital facility for core sciences at Illinois Tech. The building will be renamed in honor of her father, the late University Regent Robert A. Pritzker (IE ’46), one of our nation’s most successful and impactful industrialists.

Things

The Robert B. Kyts Machine Shop was dedicated on September 25, 2015. The space, located in the newly dedicated John T. Rettaliata Engineering Center, was renamed thanks to a gift made by Jadwiga Roguska-Kyts, associate professor of clinical medicine at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in honor of her late husband, Robert B. Kyts (MAE ’70).

The support of our alumni and friends enables us to attract quality faculty, renovate important spaces, and offer an exemplary education to innovators, inventors, and visionary leaders.

“For 125 years, Illinois Institute of Technology has played a critical role in graduating leaders. While we celebrate our historical contributions to the world, to be relevant in the long term, we must constantly change so that we can meet the needs of the students of the future,” says Alan W. Cramb, Illinois Tech President.

Campaign for Illinois Tech
A rendering of the renovations to the Life Sciences Building
Photo: Gray City Studios

Campaign Progress
December 31, 2015
$227,688,333 Raised

  • 15 Endowed Chairs
  • Capital Projects:
    • Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship: $32.6 million
    • Robert A. Pritzker Research Center: more than $5 million
    • John T. Rettaliata Engineering Center: more than $10.3 million
  • More than $38 million raised for scholarships
  • Six families have made gifts of $10 million or more

Visit web.iit.edu/fuelinginnovation to learn more about how the campaign is transforming IIT. Be sure to check out the many innovative alumni, students, and faculty featured on the site.

From Issue: 
Spring 2016
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