by jlansber | Nov 13, 2022 | College News
Two teams of undergraduate business students have been named co-champions of the inaugural Driehaus Cup, the Driehaus College of Business’s new quarterly business pitch competition, which was held Nov. 16 at the DePaul Lincoln Park Campus Student Center.
The competition is the culminating project of the college’s new course, Business 101: Business Fundamentals and the Entrepreneurial Mindset, which was introduced this fall to educate students about business career paths and the power of entrepreneurial thinking.
The co-champions were:
- Team NTWRK, represented by students Edgar Calderon, Adrian Isufi, Tara Vandergaw and Michael Zukhar, who pitched their idea for an instantaneous networking app that addresses the routine difficulties students experience when exchanging contact information with classmates assigned to group projects.
- Team Smartflask, consisting of students Josh Oldham, Allison Crofoot, Oliver Sikora, Lila Johnson and Liz Hargrave, who pitched their product idea for a bottle that tracks water consumption connected to an app that tracks water intake.
The co-champions were among nine teams that pitched their ideas for business products, services or solutions before panel of judges and an audience of more than 300, who voted on the best pitch. Team NTWRK had been identified as the sole winner at the event, but the subsequent discovery of an error in tabulating votes resulted in NTWRK and Smartflask being recognized as co-champions. Each student on both teams will receive a $500 scholarship, the competition prize.
Seventy-two teams entered the first tier of the Driehaus Cup, which was held earlier this fall in all nine sections of Business 101, one of the signature courses of DePaul’s revised undergraduate core curriculum. The competition is sponsored by the financial services firm Morningstar and the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at DePaul.
“The Driehaus Cup provides an opportunity for all of our Business 101 students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset,” says Sulin Ba, dean for the college. “This is important for succeeding in any career, whether a student plans to start a business or wants to be an innovator within an established organization.”
by jlansber | Nov 13, 2022 | College News
The Halperin Emerging Company Fund has been founded to give DePaul the capital to make equity investments in startups founded by DePaul students and alumni as well as community members. Overseen by the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center, the fund will focus on investing in ventures that show potential for growth and job creation. The initiative was founded with a generous gift from the late Errol R. Halperin (BUS ’64, JD ’67) and his wife, Libby Halperin.
by jlansber | May 5, 2022 | College News
Sandra Shelton | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds
Last fall the Driehaus College of Business lost one of its most influential faculty members. Sandra Shelton, an accountancy professor who mentored PhD candidates of color across the nation, died on Oct. 4. Shelton taught auditing and corporate governance at DePaul for 27 years, and as one of the founding members of the nonprofit PhD Project, she encouraged students of color to become business professors, including several who now teach at DePaul.
In 2016 she was named the KPMG/Neil F. Casson Endowed Professor of Accountancy in recognition of her contributions to business education and the accounting profession. DePaul has established the Sandra Shelton Memorial Scholarship to honor Shelton and carry on her legacy. Learn more about Shelton’s lasting impact and the scholarship at give.depaul.edu/SandraShelton.
by jlansber | May 5, 2022 | College News
The Driehaus College of Business has reimagined its Bachelor of Science in Business (BSB) core curriculum with input from employers about the knowledge and skills they seek when recruiting graduates. Debuting this fall, the revised program begins with three new courses—Business Fundamentals and the Entrepreneurial Mindset, Business Analytics, and Business for Social Good.
“By completing this series of courses early in the program, students gain an immediate understanding of how business organizations operate and the range of potential career fields they can pursue, while developing highly marketable analytical skills and a mindset for becoming innovative, socially responsible business professionals,” says Thomas Donley, interim dean of the business college. The revised program also provides more flexibility for students to take electives and add minors tailored to their individual career ambitions.
by jlansber | May 5, 2022 | College News
Hui Lin | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds
Hui Lin, an associate professor and international program administrator, has been named the next director of the School of Accountancy & MIS. Lin will assume her new role July 1. A member of the school’s faculty since 2008, Lin led the college’s international degree and study abroad programs as director of the Driehaus Center for International Business this academic year. She also serves DePaul as an associate director of regional initiatives, focusing on student recruitment and alumni engagement in China. Lin’s teaching and research expertise is in knowledge management, accounting information systems and internal controls.
“My priorities as director will be to attract more students to accounting, ensure resources and support for our faculty and staff, and engage and collaborate with our alumni,” Lin says. She succeeds Ray Whittington, who will return to teaching full time after serving two tenures as director of the school, before and after his 10-year run as dean of the business college from 2006 to 2017.
by jlansber | May 5, 2022 | College News
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.”
By Elizabeth Clements
