Lewis Collens

Lewis Collens served as president of the Illinois Institute of Technology from June 1, 1990 to August 1, 2007. A special edition of [iit magazine ] published in summer 2007 highlighted the dramatic changes at IIT during his tenure.

Martin Jischke, then President of Purdue University said in his introduction to the magazine:

“In 1990, the year President Lew Collens took office at Illinois Institute of Technology, the university was in a very difficult place. The entering freshman class was one of the smallest in years. Main Campus, including its buildings and architectural treasures such as Mies van der Rohe’s S. R. Crown Hall, had fallen into disrepair. And the institution was teetering on the brink of substantial financial difficulty, if not outright collapse.Class size and quality has increased. [T] he university’s endowment has increased from $50 million to more than $300 million….IIT has one of the nation’s leading innovative and interdisciplinary academic programs in the Interprofessional Projects (IPRO) program, as well as an increasingly distinguished and accomplished faculty.The campus has won awards for its landscape, iconic buildings have been restored, and the neighborhood has experienced a rebirth. Academic buildings have been renovated, and two new buildings—The McCormick Tribune Campus Center (MTCC) and State Street Village (SSV) student residence—alongside University Technology Park At IIT (UTP), have enhanced and created new opportunities for the institution.In short, a renaissance of the IIT we all hold so dear has occurred. This special edition of IIT Magazine tells the story of that renaissance and recognizes the leadership of Lew Collens…..Lew’s insistence on quality, his integrity, and his indomitable will have underpinned much of the growth that has occurred at IIT.”

In addition to his position as IIT's president, Collens serves as a director of Dean Foods Company, AMSTED Industries, Alion Science and Technology Corp. and The Colson Group, Inc. Collens has also served in various leadership roles for The Partnership for New Communities, Leadership Greater Chicago, The Economic Club of Chicago, Association of Independent Technological Universities, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, The Latin School of Chicago, and the Mayors Council of Technology Advisors.Prior to joining IIT Collens practiced law in Chicago and Washington, D.C., and was co-founder and chairman of BAR/BRI Educational Publishing Co. Collens served as a Law and Humanities Fellow at Harvard Law School and taught corporate and securities law at IIT’s Chicago-Kent College of Law. He was named dean of the law school in 1974 and was elected president of IIT in 1990. Collens holds degrees in accounting (B.S. University of Illinois), philosophy (M.A. University of Illinois) and Law (J.D. University of Chicago).

He and his wife Marjorie were married in 1962. They have one son, Steven.