University Advancement

Funding Priorities

New resources are essential to support the growth Lewis University envisions in capital improvements, endowments, programs and annual investments in excellence. The generous support of alumni, friends and community members will allow Lewis to continually enrich the educational experience it offers.

One area where annual charitable support is always a priority is The Lewis Fund, which allows the University to allocate gifts to areas of greatest need. This includes annual scholarships, faculty development, technology upgrades and campus beautification. Most importantly, funds raised through the Lewis Fund help to keep tuition rates affordable and competitive by making the University less reliant on tuition as a major source of revenue.

After careful consideration of existing facilities and the anticipated continued growth of the student body, Lewis has identified the following additional areas where philanthropic support will enhance the teaching and learning experience for all students and faculty.

Endowment

Growing and maintaining a healthy endowment is pivotal to insuring the future stability and success of the University. The principal of an endowment gift is never spent. The annual interest is divided into two parts: one part supports the program, fund or scholarship for which the gift was originally intended, and a smaller amount is returned to the original investment to protect it from erosion due to inflation. Just some of the benefits of growing our endowment include the increased availability of scholarship funds to students and added support for faculty professional development. In addition, endowment at Lewis supports such innovative programs as the University’s long-standing Arts & Ideas Series, which provides an annual array of arts and cultural events.

An endowed scholarship fund, which provides scholarship gifts to students each year in perpetuity, may be established with gifts of $25,000 or more.

The Expanded Science and Academic Building

Many of the University’s classrooms, and all of its science laboratories, are housed within the Science and Academic Building on the Romeoville campus. This building houses the departments of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Mathematics and Computer Science. The Career Center and academic advising programs are housed within its Leckrone Academic Resource Center. This building is also home to a number of in demand pre-professional programs, such as pre-pharmacy.
In order to provide for enrollment growth and facilities modernization, particularly in the sciences, Lewis is planning the renovation and expansion of this key campus building. Post-expansion, the building will house The Colonel Stephen S. and Lyla Doherty Center for Aviation and Health Research, as well as significant increases in classroom and lab space.

Academic Center

University leadership has identified the need for a major new academic building on the Romeoville campus. This building, which will known as the Center for Teaching and Learning, will most likely be built on the south side of the main campus between South Hall and De La Salle Hall. This facility will include state-of-the-art lecture halls and classrooms, study areas for our growing student body, faculty offices, computer laboratories, conference space and student gathering spaces.

Sancta Alberta Chapel Expansion

The Sancta Alberta Chapel represents the unique heritage of Lewis University's main campus in Romeoville, Illinois. It unites students, faculty, and community in a central gathering place and for common purposes. In order to meet the needs of the University community, Lewis will be renovating and expanding the Sancta Alberta Chapel to include a new Pastoral Center, designed to be a space that provides an opportunity for fellowship and spiritual formation.

The Sancta Alberta Chapel includes the Miguel Center for University Ministry, the main chapel, lounges, and offices. Built in 1954, the Chapel was named for the first wife of Frank J. Lewis, the Chicago philanthropist for whom the University is named.
The Sancta Alberta Chapel is widely used for community-building activities, special recognition events and large conferences and seminars-in addition to the standard uses of the center for faith and ministry. As Lewis University attracts and enrolls greater numbers of students each year and reaches out into the surrounding cities and towns, the schedule for the Chapel gets increasingly hectic.

The expanded chapel will provide space for pastoral counseling, peer ministry programs, and staff offices. In addition to office space, the addition will feature a great room for large gatherings and lectures, and a smaller ‘living room’ with comfortable furnishings designed for smaller groups and pastoral counseling. The new center will also accommodate easy access by persons with disabilities and provide an adequate number of restrooms, both deficiencies of the current ministry space.

Adding this space will allow the Chapel to be used more fully in its intended function as sacred space, rather than as the default meeting site for many University activities.

Studio Theatre

The Phillip Lynch Theatre is celebrating its thirtieth anniversary. This theatre is the largest auditorium and meeting space on campus, and is used for a host of University-wide needs, such as our Arts & Ideas lecture and performance series.
Because of scheduling constraints resulting from the many uses of the Phillip Lynch Theatre, Lewis' Theatre Department is unable to use this space as a classroom, and has difficulty using it to support longer-term academic purposes, such as student productions and smaller performances. To meet some of these needs, the department uses a large space located on the top floor of the Oremus Fine Arts Building as a rehearsal hall, and plans to develop this space into a studio theatre.
When this smaller theatre is complete, Lewis University will have the facilities necessary to house our thriving theatre department, which in turn will enhance the cultural life of the University and the greater Joliet area. Most importantly, the studio theatre will enable us to continue to prepare our students for their professional lives-in and out of the theatre-with a solid grounding in the theatre arts and communication.

For more information on philanthropic support for these University priorities, please call (815) 836-5244.

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