Illinois Institute of Technology publicly launched Fueling Innovation: The Campaign for IIT with events on February 7 & 8 at the university’s Main Campus in Chicago. The campaign seeks to raise $250 Million to support initiatives of Illinois Institute of Technology.
“This is a momentous occasion for IIT—the successful start of a $250 million dollar campaign,” said President John Anderson as he announced that more than $131 million has already been raised. “A campaign to build excellence at the university, and excellence beyond the university, because our students will go on to do great things in the world.”
Funding from the Fueling Innovation campaign will be used to help propel IIT into the top tier of the world’s technology-focused, innovation-centered universities, to increase access to IIT’s distinctive education for students whose families face financial challenges, to expand a learning environment that ensures our students will have what it takes to manage change, and to drive IIT’s targeted research initiatives to develop powerful yet practical solutions to the major and systemic problems facing our nation and our world.
As the campaign publicly launched, the university honored generous donors who have contributed during the “leadership phase” of the campaign. These donations support key campaign initiatives—in particular, to continue to strengthen the ability of the university to pursue answers to society’s urgent challenges by attracting and retaining top faculty and providing distinctive centers for research, to revitalize core campus buildings on IIT’s historic Mies van der Rohe-designed campus; and to open the door to a 21st Century Education by providing scholarships and distinctive educational opportunities.
Campaign co-chairs Joel Krauss [MATH ‘71] Alan “Bud” Wendorf [ME ‘71] flipped a giant light switch (created by the IT chapter of American Institute of Architecture Students) to mark the launching of the public phase of the campaign. Just as the switch was flipped, the current total raised so far flashed on the large screens set up in MTCC center court –$131,791,822– since fundraising efforts in the leadership phase began in June of 2010.
Wendorf also announced that IIT has received a gift of $12 million from Caryl Pucci Rettaliata in honor of her late husband John T. Rettaliata, IIT’s visionary president from 1952-1973. This commitment will fund extensive to the Engineering-1 building, home of IIT Armour College of Engineering, and will fully endow the John T. Rettaliata Distinguished Professorship of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, held by Hassan Nagib.
More information about the campaign can be found at fuelinginnovation.iit.edu. Watch the campaign website and IIT Today for future updates about the exciting initiatives on campus.