Giving news

A generous gift from two lifelong learners has established the first named lecture series within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering. The Ballard Seminars in Emerging Technology will focus on the 11 technical research areas that reflect the tremendous breadth and depth of the electrical and computer engineering department.

Pending approval from the Board of Trustees, the Technology Entrepreneur Center at U. of I. will be named the Landuyt Center for Entrepreneurship in recognition of more than $20 million in cumulative contributions from Richard and Gayle Landuyt. In addition to funding the Landuyt Center programs and activities, the landmark investments fund the Landuyt Center director position and previously endowed the first joint professorship between Grainger Engineering and Gies College of Business.

Michael Lee (LAS ’84, ’87) and Helen Yang (LAS ’86, ’88) turned their Illinois chemical engineering education into global leadership, and now, they’re investing in the future through scholarships and fellowships that open doors for aspiring engineers.

Gies Business alumnus Jim Cantalupo came out of retirement to lead McDonald’s through a rapid and decisive turnaround by shifting the company’s focus from expansion to improving quality, operations, and customer experience. Decades after his death, he is leaving behind a lasting legacy that continues to shape McDonald’s strategy and future leaders.

Thanks to a generous gift from Illinois alumni Douglas and Deborah Ackerman, Gies College of Business is pleased to announce the launch of a new student-led venture capital investing program – Orange & Blue Ventures.

In 2001, when Barbara Fifield Brandt ’71 LAS, EDM ’82, PHD ’87 ED, celebrated the birthday of her father, Norm, she had no idea she would end up with the best gift of all. Brandt would become the eventual owner of a family memoir that a cousin had brought as a present. Tucked within its 200 pages were a mere few sentences about a distant relative named Almira Fifield. That excitement led to the establishment in 2024 of the Barbara F. and Lawrence M. Brandt Library Endowment, which supports preservation and conservation efforts within the Library.

Two short years ago, during National Ag Day at AgRally in Fort Worth, Texas — an event sponsored by John Deere and broadcast on the RFD-TV network — ACES alum and AgRally co-founder Lyle E. Orwig helped introduce the vision for the Evans Center.

The family of George Shapland, a former University of Illinois basketball player and highly influential local businessman, is making a $1 million gift in support of U of I Athletics. In recognition of the family’s generosity and impact, State Farm Center’s east circle drive will be named “George Shapland Family Drive.”