Sixteen Years…One Legacy

President Lew Collens left more than his mark on the IIT campus; he left a legacy. Here are just a few of the milestones the university has achieved during President Collens' tenure.

Academic

Ground-breaking Interprofessional Projects (IPRO) program launched

Largest doctoral program in Math and Science Teacher Education launched

New programs and the expansion of innovative co-curricula offerings:

  • Ph.D. Design Program
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Entrepreneurship (EnPRO) Program
  • Financial Markets Program
  • Leadership Academy

Multiple centers and institutes founded:

  • Center for Synchrotron Radiation Research and Instrumentation (CSRRI)
  • Knapp Entrepreneurship Center
  • Institute for Science, Law, and Technology
  • Institute on Biotechnology and the Human Future
  • Institute for Energy and Sustainability
  • Medical Imaging Research Center (MIRC)
  • Center for Medical Management and Technology

Collaboration with the University of Chicago established the Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Neuroengineering (CINN)

Center for Professional Development (CPD) founded to coordinate and offer technology-oriented education and training for working professionals

Nobel Prize winner Leon Lederman joined the IIT faculty

Enrollment

Camras Scholarship program improved student quality, making IIT one of the most selective schools in the country

Fall 2006 welcomed the largest freshman class in thirty years

International student enrollment doubled; IIT India in Bangalore was founded

Financial

Endowments grew from $50 to $300 million

Largest fundraising campaign in university history completed including two gifts of $60 million each—the largest individual gifts ever made to an Illinois university at the time

Alion Science & Technology Corporation created—a for-profit, employee owned spin-off of the IIT Research Institute (IITRI)

Campus

Transformation of the campuses and commitment to architectural excellence

  • Campus Master Plan—ambitious plan to revitalize Main Campus launched
  • McCormick Tribune Campus Center—new campus center designed by Rem Koolhaas
  • State Street Village—new student residences designed by Helmut Jahn
  • S. R. Crown Hall—renovated and designated as a National Historic Landmark
  • Michigan Place—new residential community for faculty and staff adjacent to Main Campus
  • Downtown Campus—creation of Downtown Center to house law and business programs
  • University Tech Park—state-of-the-art technology park designed to help new and existing technology business to develop a broad spectrum of technological and scientific innovations

Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting technological university awarding degrees in the sciences, mathematics and engineering, as well as architecture, psychology, design, business and law. IIT’s interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum prepares the university’s 6,200 students for leadership roles in an increasingly complex and culturally diverse global workplace.