Newsroom

UI, State Farm Unveil Naming of State Farm Center

The University of Illinois and State Farm® are proud to announce the naming of State Farm Center, the iconic campus building long known as the Assembly Hall, pending UI Board of Trustees approval.

$100-Million Pledge to College of Engineering at Illinois

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Phyllis Wise announced today that The Grainger Foundation, Lake Forest, Illinois, has pledged $100 million to support the College of Engineering through establishment of the Grainger Engineering Breakthroughs Initiative. The contribution is made in memory and honor of William W. Grainger, a 1919 Illinois graduate in Electrical Engineering, and the founder of W.W. Grainger, Inc.

UIF Names Ellen J. Ellison New Chief Investment Officer

The 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.

University of Illinois to Improve Crop Yield through Photosynthesis in a New Global Effort

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign has received a five–year, $25-million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the photosynthetic properties of key food crops, including rice and cassava.

Thomas J. Farrell named President/CEO of University of Illinois Foundation

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.

U of I, U of I Foundation Eclipse $210 Million Mark for 5th Straight Year

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.

13 Major Gifts to Benefit Urbana-Champaign Campus of University of Illinois

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 Foundation’s 77th Annual Meeting.

Lorber named UIS Vice Chancellor for Development and Senior Vice President of the U of I Foundation

Jeff Lorber has been named Vice Chancellor for Development at the University of Illinois Springfield (UIS) and Senior Vice President of the University of Illinois Foundation (UIF).

U of I, Foundation Raise Record-Setting $2.43 Billion in Campaign

The University of Illinois closed out its most ambitious fundraising campaign ever with gifts, commitments and pledges of nearly $2.43 billion for the Brilliant Futures Campaign. That is $179.6 million (8 percent) more than the announced goal of $2.25 billion; the campaign ran from July 1, 2003, through Dec. 31, 2011.

FMC Technologies Educational Fund Has Lasting Legacy

When Bert A. Gayman graduated from the University of Illinois in 1897—a mere 30 years after the founding of the University—he may not have known the mark he would leave with an anonymous gift he would make more than six decades later.