John W. Rogers Jr.
Honorary Doctor of Economics, honoris causa
John’s passion for investing began at age 12 when his father began buying him stocks as Christmas and birthday gifts. His interest in equities grew while in college and over the two-plus years he worked as a stockbroker for William Blair & Company. In 1983, John founded Ariel at age 24 to focus on patient, value investing within small- and medium-sized companies. While Ariel’s research capabilities have expanded across the globe, patience is still the disciplined approach that drives the firm today. Early in his career, John’s investment acumen brought him to the forefront of media attention and culminated in him being selected as co-mutual fund manager of the year by Sylvia Porter’s Personal Finance magazine as well as an all-star mutual fund manager by USA Today. Furthermore, John has been highlighted alongside legendary investors Warren Buffett, Sir John Templeton and Ben Graham in the distinguished book: The World’s 99 Greatest Investors by Magnus Angenfelt.
His professional accomplishments extend to the boardroom where he is a member of the board of directors of Nike and The New York Times Company as well as lead director of Ryan Specialty. He also serves on the board of trustees of the University of Chicago and the Obama Foundation. In 2008, John was awarded Princeton University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented each year to the alumnus or alumna whose career embodies a commitment to national service. He served as co-chair of President Obama’s Presidential Inaugural Committee in 2009, and in 2023, John received the Order of Lincoln, the highest honor for professional achievement and public service in Illinois. John received an AB in economics from Princeton University, where he was also captain of the varsity basketball team.
Life Trustee Carole Segal
Honorary Doctor of Design, honoris causa
Carole Segal is the co-founder of Crate and Barrel, the founder and former CEO of Foodstuffs, and the president of the Segal Family Foundation. She is a trustee of Rush University Medical Center and chair emeritus of the Board of Governors at Rush University. Carole is a board member of the University of Global Health Equity. She is a life trustee of Illinois Tech, a trustee of Catholic Theological Union, and is on the Board of Overseers of Colorado Mountain College. She is on the Board of Forest Trends, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and Crow Canyon Archaeological Center. Carole is a co-chair of the American Business Immigration Coalition.
Darsh Wasan
Honorary Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa
Darsh Wasan joined the Illinois Tech faculty in 1964 and led the university’s international initiatives from 1996 through 2022 serving as Illinois Tech’s chief ambassador. A member of the United States National Academy of Engineering and the Indian National Academy of Engineering, Wasan has made wide-ranging contributions to the university. In 1988 he secured a gift of a five-building campus from CPC International, Inc., and with an initial grant of $3.7 million from the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) founded an innovative national center for research and education in food safety and technology—now called the Institute for Food Safety and Health (IFSH). Today, IFSH is a model for cooperation among academe, industry, and government. In 1997 he initiated the delivery of cutting-edge master’s programs to India via distance learning programs. He established centers in India, Europe, China, and Korea, forged relationships with universities around the world, and increased international enrollment from 15 percent to 50 percent of Illinois Tech’s total enrollment. In his 58 years at Illinois Tech, he has also held nearly every leadership post, including department chair, interim dean of engineering, vice president for research and technology, provost, and senior vice president for academic affairs.
Wasan came to the U.S. from India as an undergraduate student. He earned his B.S. in chemical engineering at the University of Illinois (1960) and his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley (1965). He has coauthored more than 400 publications, including the textbook Interfacial Transport Processes and Rheology with David Edwards (Ph.D. CHE ’87) and Howard Brenner, and holds 10 patents. Wasan has supervised and mentored 65 doctoral students, 61 M.S. students, and 15 postdoctoral fellows. His numerous awards include the FDA Commissioner’s Special Citation, the American Chemical Society National Award in Colloid and Surface Chemistry, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Alpha Chi Sigma Award for Fundamental and Applied Research, the American Society for Engineering Education Chemical Engineering Division Lectureship Award, and the Western Electric Fund Award for excellence in instruction of engineering students; and the Illinois Tech Excellence in Teaching Award. He served as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Colloid and Interface Science for more than 20 years. Wasan and his wife, Usha, have two sons, Ajay and Kern, and two grandsons, Arjun and Ashwin.