Repository: UIHistories Project: Dedication - Beckman Institute [PAGE 2]

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n October 5, 1985, the University of Illinois officially announced that scientist-inventorindustrialist and U of I graduate Arnold O. Beckman had given the University $40 million to establish a unique interdisciplinary research institute on the Urbana-Champaign campus. The Arnold O. and Mabel M. Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology will apply a new approach to interdisciplinary research by joining the biological and physical sciences in quest of a better understanding of human and artificial intelligence. The announcement of the gift coincided with the 50th Annual Meeting of the University of Illinois Foundation. It was at the Foundation's anniversary dinner on October 4 that University President Stanley O. Bkenberry quietly shared news of the Beckman gift with key members of the Illinois Family who had gathered to celebrate half a century of private giving to the University. The gift has been supplemented by $10 million in state support sponsored by Governor James R. Thompson to assist in preconstruction costs and preparation. In addition, the governor committed the state to "the perpetual maintenance and operation of the institute," and promised $2 million annually "to help launch new and creative lines of scientific investigation." Construction of the institute began in 1986 and is expected to be completed by December 1988. The institute will be located where the University'sfirstbuilding once stood, and will mark a new gateway to the campus on the north.