Giving
Donations to LAS
Brilliant Futures
A Chance To Explore: Inspiring Learning that Leads to Inspired Change.
Campaign Funding Priorities
The following are our immediate funding priorities to achieve the ambitious goals set out in the Brilliant Futures campaign. Some are broad. Others specific. But each one is essential in creating a college capable of equipping students today to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
Building a Solid Foundation
No college is stronger than its foundation, which is why we're committed to investing strongly in the following general areas—to recruit the best faculty, to stimulate advanced research and to draw the world's best students to study at Illinois.
Read the Pursuit of Discovery and the Power of Knowledge for examples of the kinds of vital work that will be supported with gifts for professorships, fellowships, and research.
Empowering Faculty as Teachers and Scholars
Greatness isn't taught; it's inspired by those with a passion to learn and the ability to lead. With your help we will continue to recruit and retain faculty who share these rare qualities, cultivating an environment that encourages innovation and change. $80 million
- Endowed Chairs and Professorships
An endowed chair is the highest honor that the college bestows on a faculty member and a powerful means for retaining our most accomplished faculty so that they can inspire and innovate. On the other hand, endowed professorships enable us to build for the future, recruiting researchers of exceptional talent and ensuring a climate of continuing excellence. - Professorial and Visiting Scholar Awards
Professorial scholar awards are an exceptional way to reward and retain gifted faculty who are often the recruiting target of other leading universities. At the same time, visiting scholar awards enable us to invite the world's leading researchers to come to Illinois, offering fresh perspectives and the expertise required to propel existing research to a higher level.
Research Support
The most promising research usually comes with the highest risk. Through your support, we can mitigate these risks, pioneering breakthroughs that improve the human experience and propel society forward. $75 million
Graduate Fellowships and Assistantships
Graduate students are the work force behind most research programs. By endowing fellowships and assistantships, we can encourage them to attend here, creating a self-renewing resource and advancing research while providing a powerful tool for recruitment. $30.5 million
Taking the Next Step
Beyond general college funding priorities, there are several specific initiatives within LAS that could benefit from an influx of critical resources, ensuring students access to the best tools and latest facilities. In many cases, the elements are in place and the platform has been set. With your help, we can take the next step, launching the next generation of students and researchers into a bold new era of discovery.
Read the Power of Knowledge and the Promise of Education for examples of life-enriching activities that will be supported by gifts for academic centers, educational programs, student internships and scholarships, and excellence in teaching.
Programs and Centers
Today's major discoveries are taking shape not at the edge of science, but at the crossroads, where multiple disciplines are joining forces to answer questions few have dared to ask. Through support of these pivotal programs and centers, you can join them in their journey, providing the invaluable resources to pioneer advances in education, social justice, multiculturalism, democracy, and more. You can provide support for training the teachers who touch tomorrow, ensuring that students receive an education that will inform, inspire, and prepare them to lead a better world. $40 million
Funding the Future
Internships and research sponsorships help prepare our students for the world beyond our doors, applying lessons from the classroom to the workplace. But there are others for whom scholarships can provide the first critical step. Through your gift in these areas, you can help affirm our mission as a great public institution, ensuring that those with the greatest ability do the most to benefit society, regardless of limited personal means. $15.5 million
Preserving Our Past
From Lincoln Hall to Noyes Lab, they're the buildings that hold countless moments for the alumni who walked their halls, studied in their classrooms, and took comfort in their shade in the hot Illinois afternoons. Sadly, however, many of these campus landmarks once considered state-of-the-art facilities can no longer meet the demands of a modern education. But with your help they can be saved.
Join us as we embark on a critical mission to preserve the history of our most prestigious campus buildings, while providing the updates they need to emerge as modern centers of learning and research. Currently, there are many naming opportunities for those who would like to honor their past with a gift to the future, ensuring that these magnificent structures will serve the University for generations to come. $9 million
Thomas M. SiebelOne of the most marked similarities between university and business environments is that human capital is everything. There is no substitute for recruiting and retaining the best people.
Chairman, First Virtual Group