Brief History of IIT
In 1890, when advanced education was often reserved for society's elite, Chicago minister Frank Gunsaulus delivered what came to be known as the "Million Dollar Sermon." From the pulpit of his South Side church (near the site IIT now occupies), Gunsaulus said that with a million dollars he would build a school where students of all backgrounds could prepare for meaningful roles in a changing industrial society.Philip Danforth Armour, the Chicago meat packer and grain merchant, heard Gunsaulus' sermon and came to share the minister's vision. He agreed to finance the endeavor with the stipulation that Gunsaulus become the first president of Armour Institute. When Armour opened in 1893, the Institute offered professional courses in engineering, chemistry, architecture and library science.
IIT was created in 1940 by the merger of Armour Institute with Lewis Institute (1895), a West Side Chicago college that offered liberal arts as well as science and engineering courses. The Institute of Design, founded in 1937, merged with IIT in 1949.
In 1969, IIT became one of the few technology-based universities with a law school when Chicago-Kent College of Law, founded in 1887, became an integral part of the university. Stuart School of Business also was added in 1969 with a gift from the estate of Lewis Institute alumnus and Chicago financier Harold Leonard Stuart. Midwest College of Engineering, founded in 1967, joined the university in 1986, forming the nucleus of IIT's west suburban Wheaton campus. IIT Chicago-Kent and IIT Stuart share modern facilities in the Downtown Campus building near Union Station.
Today, IIT is a private, Ph.D. granting university, with programs in engineering, science, psychology, architecture, business, design and law. One of the 17 institutions that constitute the Association of Independent Technological Universities, IIT offers exceptional preparation for professions that require technological sophistication. Through a committed faculty and personal attention, IIT provides challenging academic programs focused by the rigor of the real world.
The university's fourth site is IIT Moffett Campus, the location of the National Center for Food Safety and Technology, a multidisciplinary food safety research facility in southwest suburban Summit-Argo. A Master of Science degree and a certificate program in food safety and technology are offered at Moffett Campus. Students also may take classes through the William F. Finkl Interactive Instructional Television Network (IIT Online), which enables study at more than 50 remote TV receiving sites.
Last modified: 05/02/2012 00:37:39