Dear Colleagues,

Today we announced a $150 million gift from our generous alumni Larry and Beth Gies that will name our College of Business as the Gies College of Business. This gift will have a transformative impact on the campus and our students for generations to come.

Larry Gies is the founder, president, and CEO of Madison Industries, one of the largest and most successful privately held companies in the world. Madison builds entrepreneurially driven, branded market leaders that are dedicated to making the world safer, healthier, and more productive through innovations in filtration, medical, process improvement, energy, and safety.

The investment will grow and strengthen the College’s key initiatives: to deliver undergraduate excellence, to create exceptional graduate programs, to expand the boundaries of theoretical and applied business knowledge, and to use technology to democratize education.

It seems fitting that we celebrate this $150 million gift during the year we also celebrate 150 years of the University of Illinois. These are two important milestones in the life of our campus, one a celebration of our history and the other a preparation for our future. This generous gift serves as a validation of the quality of education business students receive at the University of Illinois and allows us to carry our vision forward, securing the College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the place for business education.

The university is incredibly grateful and proud to have two successful graduates reinvest in the very place where their entrepreneurial journey began. In particular, we are grateful that this gift gives such a great boost at the launch of our With Illinois campaign.

Please join me in thanking Larry and Beth Gies for their generosity and for the vision they see for this campus.

Sincerely,

Robert J. Jones
Chancellor