College of Liberal Arts & Sciences

Driving Student Success

More than $9.1M was given to drive student success at LAS during FY23. Thanks to donors like you, more than 25 new scholarship and fellowship funds were established, allowing students the opportunity to focus on their studies and extracurricular activities without compromising. Donor support for experiential learning opportunities such as summer research, study abroad, and internships helped our LAS students lay the firm foundation necessary to pursue impactful lives and careers.
“Donor-funded scholarships have been very influential in recruiting and retaining talented and successful students at LAS,” said Ekateryna Woodford, assistant director of recruitment and admissions for the College of LAS. “Many students are faced with making tough choices when it comes to which school they can attend due to cost, and it is incredible to be able to make those choices easier so that they don’t have to sacrifice their dreams.”
LAS’ signature scholarship program, Lincoln Scholars, received more than $500,000 in support this year from over 100 donors. These gifts – which help fill the unmet need gap for high-achieving Illinois residents – are critical to recruiting and retaining Illinois’ best and brightest.
From Lincoln Scholars to Summer Undergraduate Research scholarships to study abroad, thank you for playing a vital role in driving student success at LAS. Read more about the impact of student support here.

Fueling Faculty Excellence

In FY23, gifts to support faculty surpassed more than $7.8M supporting named faculty appointments, research, and teaching. These important gifts allow the College of LAS the critical support needed to recruit and retain scholars in the top of their respective fields.
Thanks to donors like you, LAS also honored 9 outstanding faculty members with named professorships and chairs this year, including School of Integrative Biology director Carla Caceres (G. William Arends Professor), English professor Christopher Freeburg (John A. and Grace W. Nicholson Professor), and Chemistry professor Martin D. Burke (May and Ving Lee Professor of Chemical Innovation). Venetria K. Patton was also invested as the Harry E. Preble Dean of the College of LAS. None of this would have been possible without donors like you who were willing to invest in faculty excellence at LAS.
Bruce Fouke, the newly appointed Ralph E. Grim Professor in Earth Sciences & Environmental Change, shared his thoughts on being named to the professorship: “I am dedicated to not only advancing the legacy of inclusive excellence in interdisciplinary education and research at Illinois, but to also passing the baton to ensure a future global society that can better understand and steward the intertwined challenges of environmental change, sustainable energy, human health, and space exploration.”
Whether for the life, mathematical, and physical sciences, social and behavioral sciences, or the humanities, support for faculty is vital in furthering LAS’ position as a top research university that provides world-class education and training for students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and we are grateful your role in fueling faculty excellence at LAS. Read about some of our newly honored faculty here.

Leaving a Legacy

Whether by supporting students, faculty, or facilities – or providing our departments the critical unrestricted support needed to respond to our ever-changing world – we are incredibly grateful to those of you who have chosen to remember the College of LAS in your legacy planning.
This year, we welcomed many new donors into our planned giving community, resulting in $9.7M of support for the people and programs that make LAS an incredible place to study, work, and live. Forward-thinking investments from donors like you who have chosen to secure their legacies here at the College of LAS are critical in furthering our institution’s great future. Legacy gifts continue to support key initiatives of all kinds – providing scholarships and fellowships, professorships and chairs, facilities and programs in addition to supporting our college’s most pressing priorities. We are proud to count you among our planned gift donor community, and were proud to celebrate the impact of planned giving on our college through this publication earlier this year.