BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The largest single gift in Illinois Wesleyan history — $25 million made possible by the Ames family — was recently fulfilled with the dedication of the Ames on Main/Munsell-Ferguson residence hall complex.
This follows a series of major campus enhancements and endowed gifts established over the years by B. Charles "Chuck" Ames '50 and his wife Joyce "Jay" Eichhorn Ames '49, including the Ames Library, opened in 2002, and the Joyce Eichorn Ames School of Art, rechristened in Jay's honor in 1998. Chuck and Jay and their Foundation have cumulatively given over $38 million to Illinois Wesleyan University, both during their lifetimes and beyond.
Chuck Ames passed away in 2017 and Jay passed in 2021. The couple's estate included a $25 million pledge as a leading gift in the Transforming Lives Campaign, which launched in 2009 with Chuck and Jay as honorary co-chairs.
"Words can't express the gratitude we have to the Ames family for the largest gift in the history of Illinois Wesleyan, and for their legacy of generous giving," said President Sheahon Zenger. "This support has enhanced the quality of life for students and faculty alike; I can't think of a better way to fulfill their wishes."
Chuck Ames said in 2009, "We've been very lucky at making more money than we need, so we're better off giving it to the institutions that (we) care about… If you can help a liberal arts school, you're really doing a good job of trying to preserve an institution that's very important in the fabric of this country. And Illinois Wesleyan is certainly one of those."
"We've been very, very lucky that we have the funds to be able to do things that were our dreams," Jay also said at the time of their gift. "Some people would rather have a yacht. We would rather have something beautiful on that campus that we helped bring about."
The completed funding of the Ames on Main project, 17 years after Chuck and Jay Ames pledged their $25 million legacy gift, was brought to fruition through their children, Dick Ames and Cindy Huffman.
This significant campus enhancement continues to serve Illinois Wesleyan’s newest students and foster "a vibrancy of communal living — foundational to those enduring Titan connections that define Illinois Wesleyan," said Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students Karla Carney-Hall.
Chuck and Jay Ames also endowed four faculty professorships as part of their legacy gift, intended to attract and retain top-tier faculty and scholars.
"Illinois Wesleyan has always been carried forward by people who believed in what this university makes possible," said Vice President of Advancement Jesse Meyer. "Chuck and Jay Ames intentionally made themselves an example meant to inspire others. We continue to see the impact of their incredible generosity on the campus they loved."