William and his wife Carol have been creating opportunities for Illinois students for nearly 30 years through the Chittenden Family Foundation.
To that end, they created the Carol Chittenden Scholarship, awarded annually to an undergraduate student in the Kinesiology and Community Health Department; and the William Chittenden Fellowship, awarded annually to a graduate student in ISE. They also sponsor an award for best graduate thesis relating Engineering and AHS.
Their vision has led to the annual namesake symposium sponsored by the two colleges, where the topics of aging and later-year quality of life are discussed by leading researchers in the field.