A Message from Dean Sulin Ba
Dear Driehaus alumni, supporters, and community members:
Welcome to the fall 2024 issue of Business Exchange. Read on to learn about how our faculty are advancing knowledge, how our students are building careers, and perhaps most importantly, how our alumni are forging change in their fields.
The latest from the college
First, though, a few pieces of good news.
For the second year in a row, Driehaus was ranked a top school for entrepreneurship by the Princeton Review! Driehaus was ranked #12 among undergraduate programs and #15 among graduate programs. The rankings testify to the vibrant entrepreneurial community we’ve built in Chicago and around the world and to the entrepreneurial spirit of Driehaus grads.
You can read more about the news here.
I am proud and grateful to share that, thanks to a generous $2.6 million gift from Dr. Curtis and Mrs. Gina Crawford, DePaul is launching a Business Technology Leadership Institute. Housed right here in the Driehaus College of Business, the institute will facilitate collaboration with technology experts in DePaul’s Jarvis College of Computing and Digital Media.
Like so many of our faculty, students, and alumni, the Crawfords recognize that cutting-edge technologies have the potential to transform how business gets done. Indeed, much of that potential is already being actualized.
Their gift will empower our students to drive this change. More importantly, it will empower our students to drive this change in a meaningful way, informed equally by the subject-matter expertise, entrepreneurial spirit, and commitment to social good that already make Driehaus distinctive.
You can read more about the initiatives this gift will fund here. My gratitude goes out to the Crawfords for their generosity — and to the faculty, students, staff, and alumni who are already doing exceptional work in this space.
Driehaus is already driving change at the intersection of business and technology. Our Halperin Emerging Companies Fund recently invested $100,000 in Orgaimi, an AI tech firm specializing in data science models and predictive analytics.
In this issue
In this issue of the Business Exchange, you’ll read about how we’re working to prepare students for meaningful careers at the forefront of change. Students at the Northern Trust competition got the chance to delve into timely, real-world issues with guidance from industry experts. Opportunities like this don’t just set up our students for jobs after graduation. They set up our students for meaningful career trajectories, which will surely include jobs we can’t yet envision.
Read more about the case competition here.
Our faculty are also driving change by advancing our understanding of real-world issues. Read on to hear insights into how brands should and shouldn’t intervene in hot-button political issues and learn about the widespread, damaging phenomenon of weight-based mistreatment in the workplace.
Learn about pioneering research into weight-based mistreatment in the workplace.
Underpinning so much of this work — as I know it underpins so much of your work — is the entrepreneurial spirit. The two alumni profiled in this issue, Triple Demon Dana Alkhouri and the late, prolific entrepreneur John Goode, embody that spirit.
Read the story of John Goode’s remarkable life and legacy here.
Hear from Dana Alkhouri about making a career pivot and centering women’s stories.
In closing
Many of us are preparing to spend the holiday season with friends and loved ones: with members of the communities that make us strong. Although there are many challenges ahead, for Driehaus College, for DePaul, and for the larger world we live in, I find comfort in returning to what makes Driehaus what it is: our alumni and our students. Your passion — not just for innovating or forging your own path, but for taking others with you along the journey — are making a difference.
Sincerely,
Sulin Ba, PhD
Dean, Driehaus College of Business
