Incoming Driehaus College of Business Dean Sulin Ba was introduced to the Chicago alumni community at a spring business alumni reception that attracted nearly 300 attendees. | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds
Sulin Ba, a higher education leader dedicated to fostering research, interdisciplinary collaboration and global learning, has been appointed dean of the Driehaus College of Business, effective July 1.
Sulin Ba joins the Driehaus College of Business as dean on July 1. | Photo by Jeff Carrion
Ba is currently a professor and the Treibick Family Endowed Chair in information technology at the University of Connecticut. In her nearly 20 years at UConn’s School of Business, she has held multiple leadership roles, most recently as the associate dean of academic and research support. She also served as the executive director of the Connecticut Information Technology Institute and faculty director of the Center for International Business Education and Research.
“Sulin immediately impressed me with her deep understanding of today’s higher education landscape,” Provost Salma Ghanem says. “She recognizes what a leading business school like Driehaus must do to develop our students into talented global citizens who can make positive changes in the world. Her collaborative leadership style, visionary ideas and dedication to inclusive learning will without a doubt benefit DePaul University.”
As associate dean, Ba championed faculty research. She successfully implemented new policies and procedures to increase productivity and incentivize high-quality research. In order to better support junior faculty, she initiated and implemented the business school’s first mentoring program. Ba also launched several initiatives to foster collaboration across campus. Recognizing the importance of preparing students for the global economy, she led the development of dual-degree programs in business, Spanish and German studies. Each program includes a semester abroad at a partner university, as well as an overseas internship component.
She recognizes what a leading business school like Driehaus must do to develop our students into talented global citizens who can make positive changes in the world. Her collaborative leadership style, visionary ideas and dedication to inclusive learning will without a doubt benefit DePaul University.” – Provost Salma Ghanem
As innovation plays an increasingly important role in the U.S. economy, Ba made it a priority for students to have more opportunities to engage in entrepreneurship and experiential learning programs across UConn and outside the university. She is a founding member of the board of directors for Innovation Place Hartford, an initiative jointly funded by the State of Connecticut and other public and private sectors to catalyze technological innovation. As part of the board’s work, she brought together UConn’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the University of Hartford, Trinity College and other organizations to launch several entrepreneurship programs, such as the InsurTech Accelerator and Ignite Hartford. Both programs are embraced by students as well as major insurance companies in Hartford.
“Universities can and must be engines of innovation for society. Business education is at an inflection point,” Ba says. “With its strong connection to the vibrant Chicago business community, the Driehaus College of Business has an outstanding foundation to be on the forefront of the rapidly changing business education landscape, to be a driver of economic growth and social mobility. I am honored to be the next dean of the Driehaus College. I look forward to working with the talented faculty, staff and students to elevate the college to even further levels of success.”
Strengthening diversity and inclusion among faculty, staff and students is a high priority for Ba. Through fundraising at UConn, Ba created a mentorship program to help underserved high school students find a pathway to college.
Interim Business Dean Thomas Donley welcomed Sulin Ba to DePaul by presenting her with a Driehaus College of Business jacket. | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds
There is great alignment between my experience and DePaul’s dedication to making education accessible to all,” Ba says. “I am eager to continue working toward providing inclusive access to a world-class business education.”
– Sulin Ba, incoming DePaul business dean
An award-winning researcher who publishes regularly in leading academic journals, Ba is an honorary distinguished professor at the School of Management at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. She also has previously served as a distinguished visiting professor at University of Mannheim in Germany, as well as an assistant professor in the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. She has a PhD in management information systems and a master’s in library and information sciences from the University of Texas at Austin. Ba earned her bachelor’s degree in library and information sciences from Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China.
Ghanem thanked Thomas Donley, who has served as interim dean since July 2020, for leading the college through one of the most challenging periods for DePaul and higher education due to the pandemic. “I am incredibly grateful for all he has done to support our faculty, staff and students during these challenging times. The Driehaus College of Business is poised for much future success, thanks to his leadership.”
Natalie Jaresko (BUS ’87), former Minister of Finance of Ukraine, delivered a speech at the 15th Annual Consular Corps Luncheon, hosted by The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy at DePaul. | Photo by Jackson Junkin
Driehaus College of Business alumna Natalie Jaresko (BUS ’87), an American-Ukrainian investment banker who served as Minister of Finance of Ukraine from 2014-2016, returned to DePaul this spring to deliver an impassioned address about the war-torn Eastern European nation.
Jaresko was the keynote speaker at the 15th Annual Consular Corps Luncheon, hosted by The Grace School of Applied Diplomacy at DePaul and its director, David Wellman. The event—attended by consuls general representing countries from around the world, faculty and staff—returned to the Lincoln Park Campus April 28 after a two-year hiatus.
Jaresko began her remarks by referencing the graphic news coverage of the war in Ukraine, which has raised worldwide awareness of both the brutality and heroism that are a daily part of Ukrainian life since Russia invaded the country Feb. 24.
“There is a common thread woven through each of these stories you hear, each of these photos that you’ve seen,” she said. “It is a powerful insistence on a right to self-determination. It is a powerful humility exhibited by each person and each act of kindness, selflessness, strength and unity.
“St. Vincent de Paul said ‘the most powerful weapon to conquer the devil is humility, for he does not know how to employ it and neither does he know how to defend himself from it’,” she continued. “And this is the reason Ukraine must win this war.”
The event was attended by consuls general representing countries from around the world, faculty and staff. | Photo by Jackson Junkin
The Ukrainian people, Jaresko observed, “are serving as an example to all of us. They are speaking truth to power. They are putting others first. They are protecting one another and defending their right to self-determination. That right to enjoy their identity, their culture, their history, their language and their nation.”
The determining factor in the war, she said, “will be the will of the people of Ukraine” to defend their democracy.
“Their strength comes from humility…a deep love of their homeland, and from a humble desire to live freely in our own communities, speak whatever language you wish, practice whatever religion you wish, and demanding of ourselves as much as we demand of our leaders,” she said.
The opportunity to speak about Ukraine at DePaul was “a great honor,” Jaresko said, “because this is the school that inspired me to pursue a life of public service.”
Errol R. Halperin and his wife, Libby, support startups launched by students, alumni and others
DePaul University alumnus Errol R. Halperin (BUS ’64, JD ’67), and his wife, Libby Halperin, made a major gift to the university at the end of last year to create a new business entrepreneurship program. Mr. Halperin is a retired partner and strategic advisor to the global business law firm DLA Piper. Mr. Halperin has also served as a board member of various public and private companies. He is currently on the board of Elkay Manufacturing Company, Pangea Properties and Elkay Interior Systems.
The Halperin Emerging Company Fund will give DePaul the capital to make equity investments in startups that show potential for growth and job creation. These investments will be available to DePaul students and alumni and, on occasion, other individuals to give them opportunity to form, structure, and grow newly envisioned businesses. Qualified investors may also be given the opportunity to co- invest in these newly formed companies.
“We’re proud to partner with Mr. Halperin to help launch this exciting program,” says Bruce Leech, director of the Driehaus College of Business’ Coleman Entrepreneurship Center (CEC), which oversees the program’s fund created by the gift. “This gift will not only allow for the growth of startup companies, but expands our ability as a university to serve those in our community with innovative and purposeful ideas.”
Although housed in the Driehaus College of Business, the program will serve all of DePaul’s colleges and schools, encouraging entrepreneurial innovation across academic disciplines through collaborative activities and discussion. Since receiving this gift, the CEC has been working to assemble an advisory committee composed of DePaul faculty, graduate students and alumni as well as distinguished advisors from the business community. The committee will be tasked with offering recommendations on equity investments in new businesses and is currently in the process of establishing standards for the application process and review of eligible startups.
The program’s emphasis on linking academia and industry reflects the nationally esteemed Coleman Entrepreneurship Center’s experiential-learning initiatives, such as its industry-expert mentorship program and a recently launched incubator program for social-impact startups. The latter may provide a beneficial pipeline of business candidates for program-funding consideration. With this recent gift, Halperin helps bolster DePaul’s commitment to growing an entrepreneurial ecosystem strengthened by academic innovation and community investment.
“My own DePaul education provided the ideal foundation for a career in which I’ve counseled countless clients in general business, manufacturing and the real estate industry,” says Mr. Halperin. “I’m honored to be able to help students, fellow alumni and other DePaul partners to learn those same, invaluable skills while developing businesses that create employment and build community.”
