IIT Board of Trustees Chair John Rowe and President Lew Collens Announce Major Chicago Public School Financial Aid Initiative
CPS students who meet IIT’s admission criteria and whose families earn less than $40,000 annually receive free tuition, books and fees
Chicago, IL — November 29, 2006 —
Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Board of Trustees Chair John W. Rowe and IIT President Lewis Collens today announced a major initiative for Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students. IIT will offer Chicago Public School graduates who meet IIT’s admission requirements and whose parents (or guardians) have household family incomes of less than $40,000 the opportunity to attend the university with full financial support for all tuition, books and fees.
Beginning with the first-year class entering Illinois Institute of Technology in September 2007, IIT will make these awards to June 2007 CPS graduates and will pay any remaining costs once federal, state and other available awards have been applied. During the next four years, IIT hopes to support 100 CPS graduates from low-income families who meet the eligibility requirements for the university.
“This initiative is designed to address the very real dilemmas experienced by families struggling to balance rising living expenses and the cost of higher education,” Collens said. “This program can also make a lasting impact on the growing national crisis in math and science education. We will look to our alumni, friends and the community to provide long-term philanthropic support for this initiative.”
“As the head of Exelon, a company that employs hundreds of IIT graduates and is committed to supporting education in the communities we serve, I’m delighted that my first major announcement as Chair of the IIT Board of Trustees is one that provides opportunity for CPS students,” Rowe added. “We want to maintain the high academic standards of IIT and provide a chance for those, who in the past, may have had to decide against a college or university education because of cost.”
“This program is going to make a big difference in the lives of some of our best students,” said Mayor Richard M. Daley. “The Chicago Public Schools have made tremendous progress in improving classroom learning and raising the aspirations of their students. This scholarship program is another big step in the right direction.”
This effort is the latest iteration of IIT’s growing relationship with Chicago Public Schools. Earlier this year, IIT was designated as a co-recipient of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation grant awarded to CPS to help improve mathematics and science teacher education. IIT, along with partners Glencoe/McGraw Hill and The Field Museum of Natural History, will work with seven CPS high schools over a three-year period to co-develop curriculum that will provide students a better understanding of biology, chemistry, and physics within a framework of National and State Standards.
“We’re deeply grateful and are lucky to have strong partners like IIT to help our students succeed and reach their full potential,” said Chicago Public Schools Chief Executive Officer Arne Duncan.
The class entering IIT in fall 2006 had a mean grade point average of 3.88/4, average SAT score of 1286 and average ACT score of 28. The class includes 13 high school valedictorians and nine salutatorians. Of 484 entering freshmen, 64 students ranked in the top ten of their graduating class and 37% ranked in the top 10% of their graduating class. For complete admission requirements, visit www.iit.edu.
Founded in 1890, IIT is a Ph.D.-granting university with more than 6,700 students in engineering, sciences, architecture, psychology, design, humanities, business and law. IIT's interprofessional, technology-focused curriculum is designed to advance knowledge through research and scholarship, to cultivate invention improving the human condition, and to prepare students from throughout the world for a life of professional achievement, service to society, and individual fulfillment.
