William Troost (ChemE 6T7) and his wife Kathleen have made previous gifts to ILead, and have contributed to numerous undergraduate needs-based scholarships at U of T Engineering. This year, the Troosts made a $3 million gift to accelerate ILead's ability to offer innovative programming that inspires engineering students to develop a foundation of self-awareness, integrity and empathy — all of which are critical to exceptional leadership. Their ongoing support signifies the critical and lasting role leadership education plays in preparing engineering students to become resilient changemakers. We are now named the Troost Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering (Troost ILead), in their honour.Troost ILead strives to live out its mandate with optimism, boldness, and a passion for engineers leading change to build a better world.

The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering established ILead in 2010 to advance engineering leadership education. In 2009, Dean Cristina Amon established the Task Force on Engineering Leadership Education in response to LOT’s rapid growth and popularity with students. The Task Force reviewed advances made by the LOT program and proposed strategies for its future development. It recommended the creation of the “Institute for Leadership Education in Engineering,” with the acronym “ILead.” The Institute’s mission:- To develop curricular, co-curricular and extra-curricular programming for leadership education for undergraduate and graduate students in engineering- To conduct research at the nexus of leadership and education in engineering- To reach out to others to develop a community of practice dedicated to advancing 
engineering leadership

The Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering established ILead in 2010 to advance engineering leadership education. While the Institute was founded in 2010, leadership education within the Faculty has a rich history that began in 2002 with ILead’s predecessor, the Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow program (LOT).LOT began as a summer leadership program for undergraduate students in the Department of Chemical Engineering & Applied Chemistry (ChemE). In response to tremendous popularity, the LOT expanded to include the Fall and Winter semesters. In 2006, LOT won funding from the Provost’s Academic Initiative Fund. This allowed it to begin offering leadership development opportunities to students across the entire Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering.In 2007, LOT offered its first academic course, APS501: Leadership and Leading in Groups and Organizations (that course has since evolved into APS343 and APS1501). In 2008, LOT launched the Leadership Infusion Lecture Series, allowing all engineering students to learn introductory leadership concepts within the engineering curriculum. That year LOT also launched its first experiential learning certificate program on team skills.