September 20, 2013
Weaving the Entrepreneurial Fabric of Chicago
In a University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) News Release, published on September 17, 2013, Jeanne Galatzer-Levy reported a $6.5 million pledge that the UIC alumnus, Rick Hill and his wife, Loan, have made to the UIC Department of Bioengineering. As Hill pointed out, the gift reflects the couple’s hope “that other civic-minded individuals, corporations and elected officials “will see the potential we see” in Chicago and in UIC — to revitalize the region’s economy and to solve the medical problems that beset an aging population, such as glaucoma and cancer.“
Hill grew up on Chicago’s South Side. In 1974, he earned a degree in bioengineering from UIC, and then went on to become a leading entrepreneur in the field of semiconductors in Silicon Valley. Hill believes that “Chicago is ideally positioned to be a major player in biotechnology over the next decade. Chicago, he says, has the infrastructure of research universities to compete with San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston.”
On the occasion of the Hill’s pledge, Terry Mazany, President and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust remarked that “The Chicago Biomedical Consortium (CBC), with the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Chicago, and Northwestern University, provides ample evidence of the power of this amazing gift from Mr. Hill to propel Chicago to a position of leadership defining the frontiers of biotechnology.” Mazany, who also serves as a member of the CBC’s External Advisory Board, further elaborated: “This gift will, indeed, leverage the collaboration among Chicago area institutions and enable them to rival the recognized leaders in the field of biotechnology.”
Adapted from: “For ‘economic future of the city,’ UIC alumnus donates $6.5M for bioengineering program” by Jeanne Galatzer-Levy, UIC News Center News Release, September 17, 2013.