Illinois Tech Invests John Ronan as John and Jeanne Rowe Endowed Chair in the College of Architecture
Illinois Institute of Technology recently invested John Ronan as the John and Jeanne Rowe Endowed Chair in the College of Architecture.
John Ronan is founding principal of John Ronan Architects in Chicago, an internationally recognized design firm based in Chicago and established in 1999. With projects worldwide, the firm offers a variety of design services (architecture, urban design, planning, landscape design, interior design and graphic design) and pursues an interdisciplinary approach to design that seeks out the leading experts and consultants as collaborators.
He serves as lead designer at John Ronan Architects and is known for work that explores materiality and atmosphere. Ronan holds a Master of Architecture with distinction from the Harvard University Graduate School of Design, where he received the Julia Amory Appleton Prize upon graduation; and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Michigan.
Ronan also designed the soon-to-be-opened Ed Kaplan Family Institute for Innovation and Tech Entrepreneurship at Illinois Institute of Technology. At the Illinois Tech College of Architecture, Ronan teaches courses on architectural design and seminars on material culture in architecture.
He has been the Eugene McDermott Centennial Visiting Professor at the University of Texas at Austin and is a recipient of the Distinguished Professor award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture.
The chair was established by John Rowe and his wife Jeanne. The Rowes have lived in Chicago for the past 20 years and are deeply committed to making it an ever-better city for as many people as possible. For more than a decade, the Rowes have provided support and leadership at Illinois Institute of Technology. John served as chairman of the Board of Trustees from 2006–2013, and the couple has supported a STEM+ Scholarship Fund and the Exelon Summer Institute.
The Rowes have also established three endowed chairs: The John and Jeanne Rowe Architecture Endowed Chair, the Rowe Family College of Architecture Dean Endowed Chair, and the Rowe Family Endowed Chair in Sustainable Energy.
About Illinois Institute of Technology
Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, is a private, technology-focused, research university, located in Chicago, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law. One of 21 institutions that comprise the Association of Independent Technological Universities (AITU), Illinois Tech offers exceptional preparation for professions that require technological sophistication, an innovative mindset, and an entrepreneurial spirit.
