John and Jeanne Rowe Establish Endowed Chair for IIT’s College of Architecture; Dean Donna Robertson Invested in Chair
John Rowe, Chairman, President and CEO of Exelon Corporation and Chair of the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) Board of Trustees, and his wife, Jeanne, have established the John and Jeanne Rowe Endowed Chair for the College of Architecture at IIT.
A Chair is an endowed fund to support the research and teaching and leadership efforts of a dean or faculty member and is a show of support for the university. It is the embodiment of the power of philanthropy to recognize great thinkers, faculty, leaders, and students.
IIT College of Architecture Dean Donna Robertson is the first holder of the Chair. She is being recognized for her leadership of the college and celebrates how she has bridged the gap between IIT’s strong Miesean tradition and contemporary architectural ideas.
"Donna Robertson has shaped the College of Architecture to draw upon its strong heritage in modernism, its proximity to the heart of Chicago, and its connections to emerging global practices," said John Rowe. "She is part of an intricate genealogy of architecture faculty and students who have literally shaped Chicago."
"The Rowes are not just endowing a chair, they are elevating IIT with their generous gift," said IIT President Lewis Collens.
Donna Robertson has served IIT for more than a decade as associate professor for architecture and dean of the College of Architecture. Under her leadership, IIT’s College of Architecture is now ranked as third best architecture program in the Midwest. In 2006, Crain’s Chicago Business named her one of the 100 most influential women in Chicago. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, one of the highest honors an American architect can receive. Robertson is the recipient of many other awards and honors, most recently receiving the 2007 Education Award from the Chicago ACE Mentor Program.
"To recognize Donna is to recognize the first-rate faculty at IIT. I can never overstate the role our leaders, deans and faculty play in preparing our students for a complex world," Collens added. "By investing Donna with the John and Jeanne Rowe Endowed Chair for the College of Architecture, students will benefit for years to come."
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.
