$12 Million Fund-Raising Challenge Made by IWU Alumni Oct. 10, 1998 Contact: Ben Rhodes, 309/556-3137 Note: We currently have $926,067 in collected funds, and $86,000 in outstanding gifts. We must have the complete $1,000,000 collected by July 31, 1999. BLOOMINGTON, Ill.--A new $12 million fund-raising challenge targeted to Illinois Wesleyan University alumni was announced during Homecoming '98, Oct. 9-11, by the former chairman and chief executive officer of Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., and his wife, classes of 1950 and 1949, respectively. The challenge was made by B. Charles Ames, a business administration major, and his wife, Joyce Eichhorn Ames, an art major, when they were IWU students. The announcement of the Ames' challenge was made by Craig C. Hart, president of IWU's Board of Trustees, at an alumni luncheon in the Shirk Center, beginning at 11:15 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 10. "This challenge," Hart said, "represents the largest financial commitment in the history of Illinois Wesleyan University." In a statement to IWU alumni, the Ameses said: "We believe Illinois Wesleyan University has a unique opportunity to rank among the top 40 National Liberal Arts Institutions in the United States within the next few years. "For this reason," they added, "we are willing to make a substantial commitment of funds if our fellow alumni will join with us to achieve this goal." IWU ranks No. 50 among 162 liberal arts colleges and universities nationwide in "America's Best Colleges," published annually by U.S. News & World Report. IWU also ranks as the 26th most selective national liberal arts college or university in the U.S. News & World Report survey. The $12 Million Challenge The Ameses propose to match--on a dollar-for-dollar basis--all gifts to the Alumni Annual Fund, if IWU alumni contribute a minimum of $1 million annually for the next three years for a total of $3 million. Furthermore, the Ameses propose to match--on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to $9 million--all gifts earmarked for IWU's proposed new library, a $23 million project. "These gifts," the Ameses said, "will be in addition to our previous $2 million gift commitment for the School of Art." The Ameses added: "It is our fervent hope our fellow alumni and friends will share our vision and accept our challenge." Proposed New Library The proposed $23 million library is in the design development, working drawings stage. Construction is dependent upon securing funding. Plans call for the library to be located in the vicinity of Park and Empire. It will face north, providing a new gateway to the university. A library planning document points out: "Illinois Wesleyan University' new library will be the intellectual center of the campus. The library will be the location for meeting, studying, collaborating, consulting, and reflecting. "At the same time," the paper adds, "the library and its park-like surroundings will provide a campus gateway to the community with easy and inviting access to the university. Illinois Wesleyan will now have three clearly defined entrances off three major arteries, Main, Emerson, and Empire." Groundbreaking for the new library is dependent upon raising construction funds and approval by IWU's Board of Trustees. The new library is designed as a four-story, 101,000-square foot building, 59,000-square feet larger than Sheean Library for which the current count of 233,347 volumes exceeds capacity. IWU's goal is a collection of 400,000 volumes in the new library. The new library will consolidate into a single location the university's collections, which have been housed in three locations. "A library of this sort," said IWU President Minor Myers, jr., "is critical as the center of what Illinois Wesleyan has become today and what it will be in the future." "The new library," according to an IWU planning document, "will be a clear extension of Illinois Wesleyan University's commitment to collaborative work among students and faculty. This collaboration is a hallmark of quality teaching and learning often only available at the graduate school level. Computer work stations in the information commons area of the library will be furnished with sufficient seating for students and faculty to work together while gathering information. Assistance from library personnel will be readily available to provide support for the study and research process. In addition, small group study rooms will be available for faculty-student groups and student group projects. The building will contain several special features: The first floor will house periodicals and popular fiction, as well as reading and sitting areas. The third floor will feature reading and study carrels among the stacks. The fourth-floor will contain the University Archives and Special Collections. The fourth floor also will feature the Great Reading Room, a place for research and reading. Background: IWU Library When IWU was founded in 1850, there were 500 volumes for a library. By 1852 the university's library collection had grown to 1,000 volumes, but these teaching and research resources were yet to be housed in a library. "Awkward gaps" were noted in IWU's collection by 1858, when it was noted that "our Library . . . may be greatly increased by a little attention on the part of our friends in gathering up such books." One of those friends was Stephen A. Douglas, known as the "Little Giant," who was a U.S. Senator from Illinois (1847-61) and the Democratic party's presidential candidate in the 1860 election won by Abraham Lincoln, who donated books to IWU published "by order of Congress." Following cataloguing and organization of the collections in 1914-15--and after having shifted the library between two buildings several times--the library finally occupied cramped quarters in Old North. IWU began construction of its first permanent library with the laying of the cornerstone for Buck Memorial Library in 1922. Sheean Library, a 42,000-square foot facility, opened in 1968. Its collection has grown from 180,000 volumes in recent years to just under a quarter-million volumes as the result of a $150,000 grant from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and a $100,000 gift from an IWU trustee and his partners. Additionally, IWU students and faculty use Sheean Library's facilities to access millions of volumes through electronic catalogs and inter-library loan systems. For example, the Illinois Library Computer System is a network of nearly 50 campus libraries whose on-line catalog provides access to 22 million volumes contained in the 50 campus libraries and 750 public and special libraries. B. Charles Ames B. Charles Ames, a native of Polo, Ill., was named the university's Distinguished Alumnus in 1990. He received a masters in business administration degree from Harvard University's graduate School of Business in 1954. During World War II, Ames served as a cryptographic department section chief with the 8th Army, 1943-46. In 1987 Ames joined Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, a New York City-based private investment firm which has invested in 26 companies since 1978 with annual sales exceeding $20 million. The Harvard Business Review observed: "Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's experience . . . provides insights into what constitutes best practice in the ownership and governance of corporate enterprises." Among Clayton, Dubilier & Rice's interests are Kinko's, Inc., (850 locations worldwide, providing an array of photocopying and business services); Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co., formed in 1986 by merging the automobile and light truck tire subsidiaries of B.F. Goodrich Co. and Uniroyal, Inc.; and Uniroyal, Inc., a worldwide manufacturer and marketer of chemical, tire, and plastics. Prior to joining Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, Ames was chairman and chief executive officer of Reliance Electric Co., Acme Cleveland Corp., and Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Co. He formerly was a partner of McKinsey & Co. He is the author of a highly respected book on management, "Market Driven Management; Creating Profitable Top-line Growth." Ames is retired from the boards of directors of Progressive Corp. and M.A. Hanna Co. Joyce Eichhorn Ames Joyce Eichhorn Ames (known as Jay) was born in Rockford, Ill., and graduated from University High School in Normal, Ill. At IWU, most of her classwork was done with Professor Kenneth Loomis, who then headed the Art Department. At that time, there were only a handful of art students and classes were held in a converted residence near campus. Ames recalls her sculpture class "being conducted in an area that was once a bedroom." She has applied her fine arts education by operating an interior design business for several years, as well as creating the architectural, interior, and landscape designs of various Ames' homes. She collects art and antiques and supports various organizations associated with the arts. A $2 million gift commitment from the Ames Family Foundation, awarded last February, has endowed IWU's art building. In addition to naming the art building, the Joyce Eichhorn Ames Scholarship Fund was established on Sept. 9, 1997, by her husband, B. Charles Ames, in honor of his wife, whom he met when they both were IWU students. The scholarship fund supports students majoring in the fine arts. The first scholarship recipients are: Sarah Anderson, class of '00, Rockford, Ill. Vince Fournier, class of '99, Chanhassen, Minn. Thomas Grimes, class of '01, Pittsfield, Ill. Wendy Konfirst, class of '00, Lockport, Ill. Rachelle Street, class of '01, Dalton, Wis. Sarah Studnicki, class of '00, Streator, Ill. Lisa Weistroffer, class of '98, Aurora, Ill. According to B. Charles Ames, it is "the Ames family desire to make the School of Art the finest school of art in the nation for a college the size of Illinois Wesleyan University." The Ameses of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and Vero Beach, Fla., are the parents of Paula Ann, Richard, and Cynthia. They have six grandchildren. About IWU IWU, founded in 1850, enrolls about 2,000 students in a College of Liberal Arts, and individual schools of Music, Theatre Arts, Art, and Nursing. Since 1994, these facilities have been added to the IWU campus: a $15 million athletics and recreation center, a $25 million science center. a $6.8 million residence hall, and a $5.1 million Center for Liberal Arts. Back to the main page.