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Thomas M. Siebel to be speaker at University of Illinois commencement
Jeff Unger,
News Bureau
217-333-1085
2/24/2006
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —
Thomas M. Siebel will be the speaker during the 135th commencement of
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on May 14 at Assembly
Hall. Ceremonies take place at 10:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Siebel, founder and former chairman and CEO of Siebel Systems Inc.,
was presented with the U. of I. Presidential Award and Medallion in
2001. A corporate gift from Siebel Systems in 2000 established the Siebel
Scholars Fellowship Program at the nation’s top 11 computer science
and business colleges, including the computer science department at
the Urbana campus. And in 1999, Siebel donated $32 million to the Urbana
campus to help construct the Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science.
“Tom Siebel is among our most truly accomplished alumni,”
said Richard Herman, the chancellor of the Urbana campus. “Not
only did he create and build Siebel Systems into a leading provider
of business-applications software, but through his Siebel Scholars program
he allows some of our most talented students in computer science and
business to address society’s most pressing issues, such as stem-cell
research.
“And his philanthropic endeavors touch the lives of thousands
across the nation – from helping teenage methamphetamine users
break their addiction to guiding national park visitors to a better
appreciation of natural wonders. We know his address will show our graduates
that doing well and doing good are pieces of the same fabric.”
Siebel, who founded Siebel Systems Inc. in 1993, earned three degrees
from the Urbana campus: a bachelor’s in history (1975), a master’s in business
administration (1983) and a master’s in computer
science (1985). He was recognized by BusinessWeek in 2001 as one
of the top 25 managers in the world.
The 225,000-square-foot Siebel Center for Computer Science unites the
faculty, researchers, graduate and undergraduate students in the department
of computer science under one roof for the first time. The center’s
leading edge digital technology forms a “computing habitat,”
a living laboratory where physical and digital infrastructures are coupled
with humans to create an integrated ecosystem.
