After serving for 11 years as dean of the Driehaus College of Business, I will return to my roots in the School of Accountancy this summer, resuming my previous role as director of the school. Misty Johanson will become interim dean of the college on July 1. I encourage you to read more in College News about Dr. Johanson, an accomplished academic and industry leader who is the first woman to serve as DePaul’s business college dean.
Reflecting on my tenure as dean, I am grateful for the tight-knit academic and business community that supports our college with a shared commitment to create a vibrant and innovative learning environment. Business students enter DePaul with an abundance of talent and drive, and they emerge as graduates ready to bring value to the business world. Along the way, their futures are shaped by a faculty passionate about teaching, a staff devoted to fostering student achievement, and you—our alumni and donors— who care deeply about their success.
Our alumni bring lessons to life by speaking on campus, sharing real-world case studies with our classes and opening their workplaces to student groups. With donor and alumni help, we are able to provide scholarship assistance to students with financial need, complement their classroom education with valuable mentoring and internships, and place our graduates in rewarding professional positions. I thank you for giving generously of your time and resources to support our mission.
As we transition to new leadership, our college faces both challenges and opportunities. Demographic changes and growing competition in the higher education market made recruitment of undergraduate students more challenging this academic year, and these trends are expected to continue. Uncertainty about state scholarship support for our low-income students also has budget implications for the university, which has increased its institutional financial aid to help fill the gap.
To address the changing higher education landscape, we are focusing on initiatives that enhance the value of a DePaul education for students and create new business education markets for the college. We’ve increased our combined degree offerings, which allow students to save time and tuition dollars by earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees together in as little as five years. We’ve expanded the Double Demon scholarship program that offers alumni a 25 percent tuition discount for graduate study. I’m also excited about the growth of DePaul’s Corporate Employer Outreach (CEO) initiative over the last three years. CEO has forged agreements with 25 companies and organizations to provide their employees with professional and graduate education, including corporate on-site DePaul MBA programs. Alumni have played a key role in many of these agreements, serving within their organizations as liaisons who attest to the power of a DePaul education.
We will continue to strengthen these relationships among students, faculty, the business community and our alumni and donors as we chart our path for the future. Your ongoing engagement with our college ensures a bright future for our students.
Ray Whittington
Dean
Driehaus College of Business
