COMMEMORATION OF THE OPENING OF THE KAPLAN INSTITUTE
WHEREAS, On October 25, 2018, the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship, more commonly known as the Kaplan Institute, will open on Illinois Institute of Technology's Mies Campus, commonly referred to Illinois Tech, located on Chicago's South Side in the historic Bronzeville neighborhood; and
WHEREAS, It is with great pleasure that the City Council of the City of Chicago is hereby informed of this special event by the Honorable Pat Dowell, Alderman of the 3ri1 Ward; and
WHEREAS, The Kaplan Institute is a 70,000 square-foot building designed by John Ronan Architects and will be the first new academic building on Illinois Tech's Mies Campus in more than forty years; and
WHEREAS, Ed Kaplan, an Illinois Tech alumnus and longtime member of the university's Board of Trustees, along with his wife, Carol, made a gift of $11 million to establish the Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship with $10 million set aside as a challenge grant. Sixteen donors, mostly Illinois Tech alumni, have also graciously made leadership commitments to support the Kaplan Institute; and
WHEREAS, The Kaplan Institute will be one of the places where Illinois Tech's 7,300 students from 100 countries will work side by side and across multiple disciplines to experience hands-on learning while solving important problems with innovative solutions; and
WHEREAS, The Kaplan Institute's first Executive Director Howard A. Tullman, an experienced and highly successful serial entrepreneur, is responsible for leading Kaplan Institute to achieve its goals. He aims to provide all undergraduate students with superior innovation and entrepreneurship skills; to build strong partnerships with external organizations, entrepreneurs and businesses; and to help Illinois Tech recruit creative students and provide them with the tools and skills they will need to address complex social and civic challenges; and
WHEREAS, The Kaplan Institute will be a hub for discovery, innovation and business creation, providing resources for students to make their ideas business viable. With its focus on transforming new ideas into products and processes, the Kaplan Institute will house unique facilities and equipment for implementing novel educational and entrepreneurial strategies. Its workshops, media labs, classrooms, collaborative hubs and emerging technologies will create a special and unique environment for students to truly thrive; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this twentieth day of September 2018, do hereby commend and extend our best wishes to Ed and Carol Kaplan and his family who, by establishing the Kaplan Institute, have made possible a bountiful future for Illinois Tech students and have created a beacon for the City of Chicago's tech and entrepreneurial ecosystems.