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A BRIEF HISTORY OF IIT
In 1890, when advanced education was often reserved for society’s elite, Chicago minister
Frank Gunsaulus delivered what came to be known as the “Million Dollar Sermon.” From
the pulpit of his South Side church (near the site IIT now occupies), Gunsaulus said that
with a million dollars he would build a school where students of all backgrounds could
prepare for meaningful roles in a changing industrial society. Philip Danforth Armour, the
Chicago meat packer and grain merchant, heard Gunsaulus’ sermon and came to share
the minister’s vision. He agreed to finance the endeavor with the stipulation that Gunsaulus
become the first president of Armour Institute. When Armour opened in 1893, the Institute
offered professional courses in engineering, chemistry, architecture and library science. IIT
was created in 1940 by the merger of Armour Institute with Lewis Institute (1895), a West
Side Chicago college that offered liberal arts as well as science and engineering courses.
The Institute of Design, founded in 1937, merged with IIT in 1949.
In 1969, IIT became one of the few technology based universities with a law school when
Chicago Kent College of Law, founded in 1887, became an integral part of the university.
Stuart School of Business was also added in 1969 with a gift from the estate of Lewis
Institute alumnus and Chicago financier Harold Leonard Stuart. Midwest College of
Engineering, founded in 1967, joined the university in 1986, forming the nucleus for IIT’s
west suburban campus.
Today, IIT is a private, Ph.D. granting university, with programs in engineering, science,
psychology, architecture, business, design and law. One of the 17 institutions that
constitute the Association of Independent Technological Universities, IIT offers exceptional
preparation for professions that require technological sophistication. Through a committed
faculty and personal attention, IIT provides challenging academic programs focused by the
rigor of the real world. The university’s fourth site is IIT’s Moffett Campus, the location of
the National Center for Food Safety and Technology, a multidisciplinary food safety
research facility in southwest suburban Bedford Park. A Master of Science degree and a
certificate program in food safety and technology are offered at Moffett Campus.
Students also may take classes through the William F. Finkl Interactive Instructional
Television Network (IIT Online), which enables students to take classes at more than 50
remote TV receiving sites.
IIT’s MISSION
To provide distinctive and relevant education in an environment of scientific, technological,
and professional knowledge creation and innovation.
IIT’s VISION
IIT will be internationally recognized in distinctive areas of education and research, using
as its platform the global city of Chicago, driven by a professional and technology-oriented
focus, and based on a culture of innovation and excellence.
IIT's COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY
Illinois Institute of Technology is a community that values and respects its members. We
appreciate that our faculty, staff, students, alumni/ae and trustees come from many
backgrounds and many parts of the world. We embrace the contributions that differences
offer. We are committed to providing a working and learning environment in which all
students and all members of the faculty and staff are able to realize their full potential.