On Campus Illinois Tech Headliners Had it not been for the invention of the cotton gin, it is likely that slavery would’ve been abolished more quickly instead of massively expanding in the way that it did, in a relatively short period of time.
On Campus Mies Campus Sculptural Solidarity This spring Man on a Bench was joined in sculptural solidarity on Mies Campus with several new works. Five sculptures—a gift from the art collection of Carol and Edward L. “Ed” Kaplan (ME ’65)—were installed on the grounds near the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship. Brickhead Veritas, Series No. 36 Glass and Bronze, Reverso, and Pluie de Soleil are shown here.
On Campus Plan to Attend Virtual Homecoming Visit campus, catch up with old friends, or even participate in Trivia Night, all from the comfort of your couch! Mark your calendar for this year’s Virtual Homecoming & Reunion Weekend and Alumni Awards on Friday, September 25 and Saturday, September 26. Bookmark iit.edu/homecoming and stay up to date on the latest announcements. If you are interested in planning a virtual reunion activity for your class, fraternity, sorority, or affinity group, please contact the Office of Constituent Engagement at alumni@iit.edu by Friday, August 28.
Philanthropy News Supporting Students When They Need It Most In 2017 the Student Gift Committee convened to decide how the members of the Class of 2017 would leave their mark at Illinois Institute of Technology. They also wondered if there was a way to make a difference right away.
Research Briefs When Companies Starts Tweeting, Society Benefits A trio of researchers at Stuart School of Business at Illinois Institute of Technology is investigating the relationship between the social media activity of companies and the level of their corporate social responsibility, or CSR—that is, voluntary activities that benefit society, such as donating to charities or adopting fair-trade policies.
Features Answering the Call—with Pride The motto of the National Guard—“Always Ready, Always There”—aptly captured the esprit de corps of the Illinois National Guard members who recently faced an adversary—invisible to the naked eye—unlike any others they had encountered in former missions. This past March, Governor J. B. Pritzker activated the Illinois National Guard in an historic effort: to establish the first State of Illinois drive-thru community-based testing site (CBTS) in Chicago in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lieutenant Colonel Brian C. Gahan (M.A.S. CHE ’02) oversaw the operation.
Features Building Healthier Communities Through Opal “It’s not about changing technology but changing the human mindset. Our goal is designing a device that will help change human behavior so that [people] can solve the problem,” says Irewole Akande (ENGM ’17), co-founder and chief technology officer of City Health Tech, a public-health startup that aims to use technology to build healthier communities and mitigate the spread of infectious diseases. Akande is applying his background in connected devices and analytics to address the lack of knowledge about proper handwashing techniques through design innovation.
Features From Engines to Ingenuity, Through Teamwork To say that Michael “Mike” Mikula (METE ’91, M.S. ’93) has had a productive and stimulating career at Ford Motor Company, where he has worked for the past 26 years, almost goes without saying. One year after graduating with his master’s degree from Illinois Institute of Technology, Mikula began at Ford as a tooling and process engineer and in 1997, was placed into the company’s Manufacturing Leadership Program.
Alumni News Spotlight In her first human resources position fresh out of college, Maritza Ruano (M.S. PSYC ’06) began learning life lessons in respect, empowerment, and success that would contribute to her development as a workplace leader. Ruano recalls that her supervisor gave her every opportunity to “learn and stretch” outside of her comfort zone, imbuing Ruano with a sense of confidence in her abilities and the desire to find innovative solutions to the task at hand. Now senior director of talent management at the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, Ruano is using those skills along with her education in industrial-organizational psychology to take on another first: the opportunity to develop an extensive three-year plan to help improve diversity, equity, and inclusion at AFC, where she has worked since 2016. Crain’s Chicago Business has already noted Ruano’s rising star status with a 2020 Notable Leaders in HR honor for her accomplishments at AFC, which includes a staff “learning and development” program, a way for her to pay forward the opportunities given to her early on.
Alumni News Before You Go A bright summer sun and courtyard tree are reflected in the windows of the Jeanne and John Rowe Village residence hall on Mies Campus.
Rewind Making History—and a Landmark In 1969, when John H. Johnson needed a new headquarters for Johnson Publishing Company—publisher of iconic titles such as Ebony and Jet and an integral part of Black life in the twentieth century—he approached Ludwig Mies van der Rohe protégé John Warren Moutoussamy (ARCH ’48) to create the new home for his publishing juggernaut.
