UI Alumna Leaves $12 Million for Colleges of ACES, LAS

A $12 million bequest from a 1944 University of Illinois graduate will serve as a boost to areas in agriculture and liberal arts.

The gift comes from Arlys Streitmatter Conrad, who died in 2007. She lived in Speer, a small town near Peoria. She was the daughter of a farmer and teacher and wanted to honor both of her parents. So the money will be split between the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, or ACES.

Former ACES Associate Dean and U of I fundraiser Lynette Marshall also grew up in Speer, Illinois, where she says their families were connected. She and Conrad worked for more than 20 years to help establish a scholarship in Conrad's name, aimed at a junior and senior who planned careers in farming. Marshall also helped set up the financial donation. She says Conrad was happiest when talking with scholarship winners.

"In particular, young people who were hoping to go back to the farm and engage in production agriculture in her agricultural scholarships, or students that she met in the Department of English, when she felt like they really understood her goals for recognizing her mother in that way," says Marshall.

Marshall, who's now with the University of Iowa Foundation, calls Conrad a 'life-long learner' with an unending devotion to the U of I. Conrad attended the university on a 4-year scholarship, and her career included work with the U of I Airport and Alumni Association, and S and C Electric Company in Chicago, where she met her future husband, John Conrad. The 12-million dollar bequest will be part of the University of Illinois Foundation's $2.25 billion 'Brilliant Futures' campaign.