The Nelson J. Leonard Distinguished Lecture Fund was established in 1986 by the late Mrs. Louise Leonard, Eli Lilly and Company, the Monsanto Company, Organic Syntheses, Inc., and Professor Leonard’s colleagues and students, in recognition of his impact on the Illinois community and beyond. At the time of Professor Leonard’s retirement in 1986, he had been at the University of Illinois for 44 years, directed 120 graduate students, and published over 400 papers.
The purpose of the fund is to bring world-renowned lecturers to Illinois to present the latest in scholarly developments and research. Past lecturers include Nobel Laureates Thomas Cech and Phillip Sharp, and former United States Secretary of Energy Steven Chu.