Hoeft Technology & Management

Since The Hoeft Technology & Management Program began in 1995, nearly 1,000 engineering and business students from the University of Illinois have completed the program, carrying with them Leonard Hoeft’s vision of merging two disciplines to better compete in a global marketplace. Leonard (B.S. ’47, Finance) and Mary Lou Hoeft's initial gift of $1 million helped launch the joint partnership between The Grainger College of Engineering and Gies College of Business. Their subsequent outright gift of $5.5 million permanently endowed the program, which is now celebrating the completion of its 25^th year.

The Hoeft’s philanthropic support has led to the program’s continued growth, attracting the brightest students from both colleges, and the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, through a highly selective process. The T&M Program currently boasts corporate partners with Abbott, Anheuser-Busch, Boeing, bp, Caterpillar, John Deere, Motorola Solutions, Synchrony, and T-Mobile. Lasting relationships are built between the students, alumni, and corporate affiliates through networking opportunities held both domestically and abroad.

“This program and the relationships students build with each other have been highlights of many graduates’ time at Illinois,” T&M Program Director John Quarton said. “People often ask me, 'What do T&M students do after they graduate?’ Given the opportunities made possible by the Hoefts, my initial reply is, ‘Just about anything they want.’”

Though plans to celebrate the program’s milestone anniversary are on hold as the pandemic creates challenges, an in-person event involving current and former students, faculty, staff, corporate affiliates, and other supporters will take place when it’s safe to do so.