URBANA, Ill. (AP) - The College of Engineering at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign will be renamed in honor of alumnus William Grainger.
School officials say the new name will be The Grainger College of Engineering. They say it recognizes a new $100 million gift from The Grainger Foundation. The foundation has committed more than $300 million, with more than $200 million provided in the last six years. UI officials say that’s the largest amount ever give to a public university to name a college of engineering.
Grainger graduated from the university’s electrical engineering program in 1919. He founded an industrial supply company that now employs more than 25,000 people worldwide.
The name is pending consultation with a chancellor’s joint advisory committee and approval from the University of Illinois Board of Trustees.
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