University of Illinois Foundation

Foundation Press Releases

Ellen J. EllisonThe University of Illinois Foundation named seasoned investor Ellen J. Ellison as its new chief investment officer, effective Jan. 15, 2013. Ellison has more than 30 years of experience in the financial sector and was the former executive director of investments at the University of Miami. Read more 

 

Dan Peterson, who has served in several senior leadership positions at three universities, has been named vice chancellor for institutional advancement at the Urbana campus of the University of Illinois. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois Foundation has selected Thomas J. Farrell, a fundraising executive who has worked at several top private universities, as its new president and CEO, according to Jane P. Donaldson, Chair of the UIF Board. Read more 

 

Thirteen private gifts totaling more than $11 million earmarked for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign were announced today (Friday, Sept. 28, 2012) at the U of I Foundations 77th Annual Meeting. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois and the University of Illinois Foundation had another banner year in fundraising for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2012. The University and the Foundation registered $210.6 million in outright cash gifts, pledge payments, annuities/ life income gifts and estate distributions, according to Walter Knorr, U of I chief financial officer and treasurer of the University of Illinois Foundation. This is the fifth consecutive year that cash gifts have eclipsed $210 million. Prior to the recently concluded Brilliant Futures Campaign, the $200-million threshold was only passed once. Read more 

 

Dr. Sidney S. Micek, president of the University of Illinois Foundation for the last 12 years, announced today (Jan. 9, 2012) that he is stepping down as the fundraising organization’s chief administrator. Read more 

 

Sixteen private gifts totaling more than $18 million earmarked for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign programs were announced today (Friday, Sept. 23, 2011) at the U of I Foundation’s 76th Annual Meeting. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois and the U of I Foundation enjoyed another excellent year in private gifts received for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2011. The University and UIF raised $216.6 million—the third highest gift total ever, according to Walter Knorr, U of I chief financial officer and treasurer of the U of I Foundation. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois’ Brilliant Futures Campaign has surpassed its $2.25 billion goal four months before the campaign’s Dec. 31, 2011, conclusion. As of Aug. 31, 2011, the University has gifts and commitments totaling $2.267 billion. Read more 

 

Eleven private gifts totaling more than $10 million earmarked for University of Illinois programs at the Urbana-Champaign campus were announced today (Friday, Oct. 1, 2010) at the U of I Foundation’s 75th Annual Meeting. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois’ Brilliant Futures Campaign, the largest in the school’s 143-year history, has passed the $2 billion mark and was 89 percent towards its $2.25 billion goal as of Sept. 15, 2010. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois and the U of I Foundation enjoyed another banner year in private gifts received for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2010. Read more 

 

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution presented the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship to Thomas M. Siebel, a University of Illinois graduate, and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service to The Honorable Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of State, May 26, 2010, in Palo Alto, Calif. Read more 

 

Eleven private gifts totaling more than $23 million earmarked for University of Illinois programs at the Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield campuses were announced today (Friday, Oct. 2, 2009) at the U of I Foundation’s 74th Annual Meeting. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois’ Brilliant Futures Campaign, the largest in the school’s 142-year history, has passed the $1.707 billion mark towards its $2.25 billion goal as of Aug. 31, 2009. Read more 

 

The University of Illinois and the U of I Foundation had a record-setting year for private gifts received for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2009. Read more 

 

“All of us at the University of Illinois Foundation, including our Board of Directors, are grateful to President Joe White for his outstanding leadership and many contributions to the University of Illinois. Read more 

 

Despite a bad U.S. and global economy, private gifts to the University of Illinois and to the University of Illinois Foundation unofficially totaled $220 million for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2009. Read more 

 

Roger Ebert, the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic, got two big thumbs up from the University of Illinois for a seven-figure gift to his alma mater. Ebert, a 1964 U of I graduate and widely regarded as the nation’s most visible and influential film critic, and his wife, Chaz, have made a gift of $1 million toward creation of the Roger Ebert Program for Film Studies Fund. Read more 

 

The daughter of an Illinois farmer and teacher, Arlys Streitmatter Conrad graduated from the University of Illinois in 1944, had a successful career in the corporate world, and, after a longtime and fulfilling relationship with her Alma Mater, has honored the University with a $12 million endowed gift to be shared equally by the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS). Her estate gift – Mrs. Conrad died on Sept. 6, 2007 – allows the two colleges to address their most pressing priorities. Read more 

 

Twenty private gifts totaling more than $43 million earmarked for University of Illinois programs at the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago campuses were announced today (Friday, Oct. 17, 2008) at the U of I Foundation’s 73rd Annual Meeting.  Read more 

 

Brilliant Futures, one of the largest development campaigns in higher education and the largest in the University of Illinois’s 141-year history, has reached the two-thirds point in gift commitments as of the end of September.  Read more 

 

Gifts to the University of Illinois and the U of I Foundation for the fiscal year that ended on June 30, 2008, totaled $213.9 million, according to Walter K. Knorr, U of I chief financial officer and treasurer of the U of I Foundation. Of the $213.9 million received, $47.2 million was designated to the U of I directly and $166.7 million was contributed through the Foundation. Total private giving increased 12 percent over the previous year. Alumni and friends giving increased by more than 15% (15.4) or $12.8 million from FY07.  Read more 

 

A $10 million gift to the University of Illinois at Chicago to enhance studies in Polish history, language and literature will transform the study of that country and its culture in the city with the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw.  Read more 

 

Sheila C. Johnson, entrepreneur, philanthropist, musician and long-time patron of the arts, is donating $4 million to endow two chairs in the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Music. The generous gift will create the Daniel J. Perrino Chair of Jazz Studies and the Susan Starrett Chair in Violin. Both Perrino and Starrett have long-time associations with the U of I School of Music and were mentors to Johnson while she was a student.  Read more 

 

The University of Illinois launched the largest fundraising effort in the school’s 140-year history on Friday, June 1. The goal of Brilliant Futures: The Campaign for the University of Illinois is to raise $2.25 billion to support students, faculty, research, programs and campus environments. Read more 

 

The Urbana-Champaign campus plans to use Campaign funds to cultivate leaders for the 21st century, provide excellence in academic programs, encourage breakthrough knowledge and innovation, create transformative learning environments and ensure that the best and brightest students have access to the Illinois experience. Read more

 

Campaign funds for the Chicago campus will help UIC focus on combining an urban university with the resources of a leading research institution to accelerate the discovery and sharing of knowledge, enrich student experiences, expand the Great Cities Commitment, promote healthy societies and offer broader access to academic opportunity. Read more

 

The Springfield campus, now an accredited four-year institution, will utilize Campaign funds to offer innovative, high-quality liberal arts education, public affairs activities and professional programs. Read more

 

The gift commitment from Siebel is an estate provision combined with outright support of science and engineering on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Read more

 

A seven-figure commitment from Dr. Josef and Margot Lakonishok of Chicago will support the position of the dean of the College of Business on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Read more

 

A $22 million estate gift commitment from Dr. James A. and Marion C. Grant of Austin, Texas, will support an array of academic activities in the UIC College of Medicine related to the mechanisms, treatment and prevention of emerging diseases arising from the immune system. Read more