Whether the subject is urban economic development or education economics, Professor of Economics William Sander is fascinated by the forces at work beneath the surface.
Why do some people choose to settle in big cities rather than in the suburbs? What is the correlation between college major, earning power and the place in which you reside? Why is Chicago’s population shrinking at the same time that median household incomes and education levels in the city are rising? Sander addresses these issues and more in his research, in the classroom, and in his role as an economic consultant for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.
Not surprisingly, Sander’s findings oftentimes have an impact close to home. For example, his research on Chicago’s changing demographics explore the waxing and waning fortunes of certain neighborhoods and racial groups in the city, thereby potentially influencing people’s thinking on such issues as housing, schooling and election of public officials.
Sander’s expertise has gained notice in both academic literature and popular media. One of his co-authored studies, “Teachers and Student Achievement in the Chicago Public High Schools,” which estimates the importance of teachers on student mathematical achievement, has been cited more than 1,000 times by other researchers, according to Google Scholar. Meanwhile, this spring, when the maker of Oreos decided to move production of the cookie from Chicago to Mexico, the Chicago Sun-Times published a commentary by Sander in which he shed light on the complex international trade policies that affect such business decisions.
Sander also reaches into the community through his teaching, availing himself of the real-world classroom on DePaul’s Loop Campus doorstep through several of his economics courses. He offers an upper-level economics class on the Chicago economy as well as a freshman class on the subject in which he takes students on field trips to the Chicago Board of Trade, the world’s oldest futures and options exchange, the Federal Reserve Bank and various corporate headquarters around the city.
Sander brings the world into his classroom as well, inviting prominent members of the business community to speak to his students.
“In textbooks, you get a lot of theory, but research allows me to bring real-world data and experience to bear with students, which makes the concepts much more concrete.”
As one of the nation’s foremost scholars on real estate economics, finance and investment, Professor James Shilling has a bird’s-eye view of the real estate field. There’s one thing about which he’s certain: in the last 20 years, things have gotten a lot more complicated.
As part of his appointment, Shilling leads academic research at DePaul’s Institute for Housing Studies, a go-to source for academics, industry leaders and housing policymakers to find data on housing trends, especially those affecting local affordable housing. Shilling’s research addresses such timely issues as the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates, a topic that’s dominated the headlines in recent months.
“In order to have a strong economy, you need a strong housing market, a fact that has serious implications for the Federal Reserve’s behavior,” he says. “Raising interest rates too quickly could cause the housing market to revert back to its status of a year or two ago, where sales were at one-third of the normal level.” This shift also creates a multiplier effect that can be profound, Shilling explains. “As rates go up, there’s a big risk of sales plummeting, which in turn causes a big slowdown in GDP growth. On top of that, if millennials can’t afford to buy homes, then rents rise, thereby making the entire housing market very tough in terms of affordability.” Shilling also conducts research into such issues as real estate investment trusts and the role of real estate in institutional investors’ portfolios, garnering knowledge that he is eager to share with students.
“Real estate markets have become much more specialized in the last 20 years, and students need more focused knowledge in order to deliver investment advice to clients who need steady returns.”
Furthermore, Shilling says, students need to understand that real estate is not an isolated investment. “Within our MBA program, we offer a host of classes that address various levels of specificity so that students have a good understanding of such vehicles as private equity real estate limited partnerships. There are massive amounts of money at play in the real estate sector these days, and it’s important to keep our students on the cutting edge of knowledge and research. I’m committed to ensuring that DePaul’s program in real estate studies is a model for others to follow.”
Before he earned his PhD in finance, David McLean worked for a year as a stockbroker. Looking back, he says it was an eye-opening experience. “It’s really easy to trick yourself into thinking you know things that you don’t,” McLean observes. “As an example, when I began investing, I thought that I could pick the best individual stocks and mutual funds, but I really couldn’t.”
McLean is far from alone in making these kinds of mistakes; indeed, it is perfectly natural for investors to fall into such traps. The study of these types of phenomena and their effects on financial markets fall under the umbrella of behavioral finance, which comprises a large part of the research conducted by McLean, who was named Keeley Chair in Investment Management at DePaul last July.
McLean seeks to educate students about common behavioral misperceptions and other aspects of investing by focusing on the real-world application of various economic frameworks. Among the most useful example for students, he says, is the wisdom of a diversified investment portfolio. “We can show that investments based on large, diversified portfolios tend to yield similar returns, but have much less risk as compared to those with just a few individual stocks.”
McLean believes that bringing his research into the classroom enables him to deliver richer discussions while also giving students the tools to make good financial decisions. “For example,” he says, “one topic we address is efficient markets, a theory that says that stock prices correctly tell you a company’s value because prices reflect and incorporate all the relevant information available. We then explore examples from behavioral finance, which suggest that, in reality, investors make all sorts of mistakes that can lead to prices that are quite different from fundamental or fair values.”
Whatever the topic, McLean’s first question for any research he approaches is simple: “Would other academics working in this area think that my findings are novel and important?” Nonetheless, McLean concedes, “I don’t choose research topics with a practical application in mind, but if someone can apply my research in a useful way, that’s great.” McLean does consulting that is based on his research on equity investments, and he has presented his research at several practitioner-sponsored conferences.
“I believe that the academic’s role is to create knowledge through research and share knowledge by teaching.”
“We’re supposed to gain a better understanding of how the world works, and then teach other people what we have learned.”
From DePaul to the World: Alumni See Business From a Global View
By Lori Ferguson
With virtually every business doing some business overseas, international business knowledge, cultural awareness and relationship-building skills are critically important for professionals today. Faculty at the Driehaus College of Business are nurturing these qualities in DePaul graduates in a host of ways—through classroom encounters, study abroad seminars and international business education initiatives that offer students numerous points of entry into the global economy.
“Global business opportunities are so pervasive that every one of our students must receive an international perspective, even thou though they may never plan to do business abroad,” notes Dean Ray Whittington.
Jim Logothetis
Alumni who conduct business abroad, like Driehaus College of Business Advisory Council member Jim Logothetis (BUS ’77), say a global business orientation offers a competitive advantage. “As a student, you need to realize how critical global business is, and it’s hard to do that when you’re immersed in your own culture,” Logothetis says. A partner with Ernst & Young’s Assurance Practice, Logothetis has lived and worked in the U.S. and abroad over his past 36 years with E&Y, serving large international companies both public and private. “The business world is very global now, so it’s imperative that students learn to think globally and expose themselves to other cultures and ways of doing business by interacting with students from other countries and traveling abroad themselves whenever possible,” Logothetis notes.
DePaul’s business college offers students several advantages in this regard, he says. Located in the heart of Chicago’s Loop, the school sits at the nexus for business in a world-class city. DePaul also attracts a significant number of international students, thus offering many opportunities for students to learn about other cultures through personal interactions, and it has an outstanding MBA program. “In direction, tone and strategy, DePaul is well positioned to prepare its students for the challenges and opportunities they will encounter in a global economy,” Logothetis says.
Don Scheibenreif
Don Scheibenreif (BUS ’87), vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner, Inc., likewise believes that to succeed, students must be willing to keep an open mind and step outside their comfort zone. A seasoned international businessman, Scheibenreif credits DePaul for preparing him solidly in both respects. “My DePaul education taught me to be open-minded, a valuable quality when working overseas, because you have to let go of preconceived notions and learn new ways of interacting. My coursework at DePaul fostered an attitude of curiosity and a thirst for continuous learning that has served me well.”
Building Relationships Abroad
For nearly a decade now, Associate Professor of Marketing Zafar Iqbal has witnessed firsthand the benefits students gain through exposure to other customs and cultures. Together with Executive-in-Residence Luis Larrea, Iqbal leads groups of business students on study abroad seminars to his native India, as well as to Japan. “Obviously, who you are determines what you get out of the experience,” he observes, “but everyone who participates in the seminars has one important realization: business is all about relationships. Over the course of two weeks, you watch students’ perspectives change—they’re no longer fearful of ‘the other.’ They’re inundated with new experiences—differences in class, cuisine, culture and temperature—which is mentally exhausting, but also exhilarating.”
Students expand their horizons and hone their ability to break the ice with strangers, Iqbal explains, both of which enhance their self-confidence. They also gain greater empathy for others, having experienced that feeling of utter foreignness themselves. “Everyone returns with an appreciation for the intensity of friendships and a much better understanding of what a multicultural learning environment is really all about.”
Michael Korycki (MBA ’11) was prepared to work and live in India after visiting the country during a study abroad trip.
Study abroad helped prepare Michael Korycki (MBA ’11) for work at an international company after graduation.
Korycki, a participant in a summer 2010 study abroad seminar in India, says his two-week sojourn provided him with more relevant experiences than he could have gathered in two months in-country on his own. Today, Korycki is putting those insights to work as a project manager at Global Cloud Xchange, an international provider of integrated communications solutions for businesses and a business unit of Mumbai-based Reliance Communications.
“Exposure to different cultures and other ways of doing business is so informative, particularly in an emerging economy like India,” he says. “Encountering so many new people, cities and companies in a short amount of time forces you to think harder and look at things more critically. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. The trip increased my confidence during the interview process and enhanced my ability to interact successfully with my Indian colleagues.”
Chris Huberts (BUS ’09) explores India via elephant.
Christopher Huberts (BUS ’09) is similarly enthusiastic. A manager of product management for Amazon.com in India, Huberts majored in marketing at DePaul and was a member of the first international business seminar Iqbal led to India in 2008. “Despite reading every book on the recommended reading list, I was still blown away with what I experienced.”
Huberts returned from the trip determined to work in India one day, and six years later, his dream was realized. He’s now wrapping up his overseas assignment and says he’s had a life experience that he’ll never forget. “As a businessperson, working so closely to an epicenter of technology has given me instant ‘street cred’ with the software engineers at my company and made initial conversations with hiring managers much easier. Studying abroad can offer perspective and insights that go way beyond the classroom.”
An Eye-Opening Experience for International Students
International students who come to DePaul also derive great value from the cross-cultural experience, whether they choose to remain in the States after graduating or return to their home country. Chelsea Cai (MS ’13), an assistant manager with JLL (formerly Jones Lang LaSalle) in Tianjin, China, says that her two years at DePaul exposed her to American culture, improved her interpersonal skills and generally “opened my eyes to the world.”
Chelsea Cai (MS ’13) traveled from China to Chicago to study at DePaul.
International students who come to DePaul also derive great value from the cross-cultural experience, whether they choose to remain in the States after graduating or return to their home country. Chelsea Cai (MS ’13), an assistant manager with JLL (formerly Jones Lang LaSalle) in Tianjin, China, says that her two years at DePaul exposed her to American culture, improved her interpersonal skills and generally “opened my eyes to the world.”
Cai identifies three aspects of her educational experience as particularly important: DePaul’s premium location in Chicago’s financial district, the extensive career preparation offered by Kellstadt Graduate School of Business’s Career Management Center and the multitude of alumni resources and networking opportunities available at DePaul. It was through alumni resources that Cai found an internship at Barrington Research Associates and later a position at Chicago-based Cambridge Realty Capital.
“These training opportunities and interactions with different levels of people enhanced my professionalism and increased my ability to communicate effectively,” Cai says. Back in China, the benefits continue to accrue. “My international experience helped me to grow faster than my peers and has given me the confidence to grasp any opportunity I feel like trying,” Cai explains.
Likewise, Joey Jiang (MS ’13), a fund accounting analyst at J.P. Morgan in Chicago, was initially drawn to DePaul because of its location in the heart of the city. She quickly discovered that the school offered many additional benefits, particularly to international students. “DePaul is very open to students with different backgrounds, so you can always find a fit,” she notes.
Joey Jiang (MS ’13) credits DePaul’s career services with helping her land a position in Chicago after graduation.
Jiang also found DePaul’s professional resources, including career and alumni mentoring services, very beneficial. As a student, she secured an accounting internship with Careforde, a Chicago-based health care supplier, through the Kellstadt Career Management Center. “The internship was very helpful. It gave me a better understanding of my strengths and weaknesses and provided wonderful talking points for interviews after I graduated.” Jiang also credits her time at DePaul with helping her to develop self-understanding, self-discipline, maturity and confidence. “I learned the importance of teamwork and communication at DePaul, two skills that I know will serve me well throughout my life.”
A Wider Vision of Business
Another aspect of DePaul’s global education strategy involves collaborations with international partners, including the Bahrain Institute for Banking (BIBF), an educational institution with which DePaul has enjoyed a thriving relationship since 2001. Through this partnership, DePaul business faculty travel to BIBF’s facilities in Manama to teach students enrolled in DePaul’s MBA, MS in Human Resources Management or MS in Finance degree programs in Bahrain.
While Sabah AlMoayyed (MBA ’05) studied at DePaul’s MBA program in Bahrain, her son studied at DePaul in Chicago.
Among the program’s graduates is Sabah AlMoayyed (MBA ’05), founder of Intellect Resources Management W.L.L., a management consultancy firm in Bahrain that specializes in leadership and entrepreneurial training for middle to executive management, with a focus on women. AlMoayyed started her business in 2013, following a successful career in banking and finance, and is a vocal advocate of cross-cultural education, having experienced the benefits throughout her career.
AlMoayyed studied abroad first as an undergraduate and then as a participant in several advanced management programs at The Wharton School and the University of Virginia. In addition to spending nearly 10 years as general manager and board member of Eskan Bank, Bahrain’s largest public-sector mortgage and property development bank, she also worked at Citibank in Bahrain and Dubai and spent seven months with Morgan Stanley in New York.
“My DePaul experience at BIBF refreshed my connection with experienced faculty who delivered a broader, more up-to-date view of the best practices in management, finance, human resources and capital markets,” explains AlMoayyed.
Bringing business expertise into her country and sending the younger generation abroad to gain exposure to business practices in other parts of the world are important, she continues. In fact, AlMoayyed’s son was an undergraduate at DePaul in Chicago at the same time she was completing her MBA in Bahrain. At one point they even studied with the same professor.
Like many other DePaul graduates, AlMoayyed found that multicultural learning experiences enhanced not only her technical skills, but also soft skills like presentation, critical-thinking, and decision-making techniques that every person in business must master to succeed.
Although already in a CEO role and a board member when she began her MBA, AlMoayyed says that the experience helped her immeasurably. “It re-emphasized to me the fact that there is no end to continuous learning, introduced me to the latest management practices and brought me up-to-date with technology, research and rationalizing output,” she says. “Cross-cultural exchange helps to widen our vision, allows us to study best practices on a macro level and adopt what’s best for us within our own business culture.”
When Tom Blaze (MST ’08) decided to earn his Master of Science in Taxation, he benefited from a partnership between McGladrey and DePaul. “McGladrey had a program where DePaul instructors would actually come to our seminar room, which made it very, very convenient. It was almost like it would be foolish not to do it,” says Blaze, a partner in McGladrey’s State and Local Tax group, who earned his degree in 2008.
The partnership program began in 2005, and at first, DePaul faculty would go to McGladrey’s main office and teach classes that were broadcast online through the company’s technology. Two years ago, DePaul took over the technology, and now classes are taught and broadcast from DePaul’s Loop Campus. Students can either come to class on campus or log on remotely to view the lectures. While most of the students are located in Chicagoland and the Midwest, the program also draws McGladrey employees based as far away as California, New York and Washington, D.C.
The partnership between McGladrey and DePaul came about in part because an advanced degree is a necessity in the tax field. “The MST brings the knowledge you need in order to function as a tax professional. It takes a lot longer to get this knowledge if you’re just getting it doing client work. You’ve got to have both—you need that real-world experience as well as this knowledge,” says DePaul Instructor Diane Kuhlmann.
Kuhlmann offers an interesting perspective on the program. “For 10 years, I was the director of training for tax professionals at McGladrey. I was involved with the MST program when working there, and now I’m at DePaul working on the other side,” she explains. “What we’ve worked really hard to do is to make sure this online program is equivalent to DePaul’s regular program. Students who are attending the McGladrey program are not getting an ‘MST light.’”
Blaze also has seen the program from both sides, first as a student and now as an instructor. “While I was in the MST program, I developed a lot of respect for the DePaul instructors. They all had practical experience, and they brought examples of what they were doing in their day-to-day jobs,” says Blaze, who now teaches ACCT 570: State and Local Tax at DePaul.
After 10 years, the program is still evolving. The format used to be synchronous, meaning it was designed so all students were watching together at the same time, no matter where they were located. Now, Kuhlmann says, DePaul is moving to an asynchronous platform with prerecorded lectures. The class also includes a weekly webcast. Students can choose to attend the webcast and interact with the instructor in real time or access the recording whenever is convenient for them. “As time goes on and as technology and platforms change, we’re continuing to upgrade the program.”
The Medline DePaul MBA cohort takes classes at the company’s Mundelein, Ill., headquarters through a partnership forged by DePaul’s CEO Initiative.
A new university initiative is giving employees at large Chicago corporations another way to attend DePaul. Thanks to DePaul’s Corporate and Employer Outreach (CEO), instead of hopping on a bus or train and commuting to campus, employees can head to a classroom or conference room at their workplaces to earn degrees.
“The flexibility of being able to walk down the hall and start a graduate degree right after a busy workday is a real benefit to the employee,” says Suzanne Depeder, DePaul’s associate vice president for Graduate Admission in Enrollment Management and Marketing. “Employers benefit as well because talent development is a key driver of organizational growth and success.
They are able to offer their employees an onsite degree program and tuition reimbursement as part of a strategy for improving their talent and keeping them from moving to competitors.”
The CEO Initiative partners with area corporations to identify and customize degree and certificate programs that help employers develop their workforces. The partnership involves DePaul offering scholarships to employees, who then either take courses through an onsite program or attend any of the 150 undergraduate or graduate degree programs offered on campus. DePaul lets employees know about potential degrees through onsite information sessions, as well as lunch and learn seminars featuring professors.
For companies that choose onsite programs, it’s a significant benefit that employees don’t have to commute to campus. One such company is Medline, a major manufacturer and distributor of healthcare supplies that is headquartered in Mundelein, Ill., near the Wisconsin border. The company launched an MBA cohort in 2014.
“The CEO Initiative helps DePaul reach a broader prospective student base, in that we can connect with students who might not have considered us simply based on location,” Depeder explains. “The Medline cohort is a great example of how this initiative has allowed us to expand our geographic reach.”
Associate Professor of Management William Marty Martin says he appreciates what the programs offer to all parties. “The benefits to students and alumni are invaluable, from securing employment to moving up the ladder. For DePaul, we get exposure and placements for our students,” says Martin, who has spoken at onsite lunch and learns about DePaul’s Health Sector Management MBA concentration and other degrees.
In its first year, the CEO Initiative recruited two onsite cohorts, bringing in 70 students. Depeder expects the program to grow because of its utility to students and corporations alike. “Employers are looking at things they can offer to their employees as benefits, so the fact that we are able to offer a flexible delivery model is attractive. Plus, it’s a good retention strategy for their employees,” Depeder says. “It’s much easier to figure out how to give people professional development and benefits to keep them than to recruit all over again.”
Marriott Scholars Elanna Smith and Sofija Veta participate in a teamwork exercise with Marriott Sous Chef Craig Moisand, as Visiting Associate Professor Nicholas Thomas watches.
This year, the School of Hospitality Leadership is expanding its undergraduate professional development opportunities with a unique partnership. A $200,000 gift from the J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation led to the launch of the Marriott Hospitality Scholars Program, which provides 10 freshmen and 10 juniors each a $10,000 J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott Foundation Hospitality Scholarship, paid over a two-year period.
The scholars program benefits students in different ways. For freshmen, the program’s activities are designed to spark an interest in choosing a hospitality major or minor. For juniors, the scholarship provides support for students completing a hospitality degree. In addition, each underclassman is paired with an older student in a mentee-mentor relationship. “The juniors are sitting on a wealth of information that the freshmen can tap into to help them progress through their academic careers at DePaul,” says Visiting Associate Professor Nicholas Thomas.
Nothing similar existed at DePaul, so Thomas and instructor Brian Barker created a format that mirrors a management-training program. Students complete workshops based on key areas of hospitality, such as effective communication, managing conflict, culture and diversity, before touring local Chicago Marriott properties and seeing how hotel leaders are applying the concepts.
The program “is designed to give an opportunity to get an education and to transition into hospitality to people who might not have been afforded that opportunity before,” Thomas explains. When weighing student applications, the selection committee considered whether potential scholars had faced hardship and whether they were first-generation college students.
Elanna Smith, a junior majoring in communication studies and minoring in hospitality leadership, enjoys being a Marriott Scholar for the added benefits the scholarship provides.
“Besides financial support, I was fully equipped with the proper materials for a professional career. Plus, I have 19 other scholars who share the same interests,” says Smith, who secured a summer internship through the program to work for a Marriott brand. She says her interest in hospitality grew from watching her mother run a cleaning company. “Sometimes I would go to work with her, and it was a great feeling to see someone satisfied and happy with our service,” Smith says.
Despite strong ties with the Marriott brand, the program does not require that students go to work for the company after graduation. Rather, the program is designed to give students a clearer idea of hospitality management as a whole, which can be difficult to understand without firsthand experience.
“That’s why when we go to the properties, I really want students to interact with leaders who are actually working to get a real understanding of what their careers are going to be like when they go into hospitality,” Thomas says. “We sometimes have a difficult time doing that in the classroom, so anything we can do now while the students are in school to give them a realistic impression makes the transition post-graduation that much easier.”
One unique aspect of the partnership is how it expands the ways that industry representatives normally interact with students. “What I’ve been really happy with is Marriott’s passion to participate in this. It’s really great to see,” Thomas says. “So often, the relationship that we see with industry is really guest speaking and maybe coming in for an event. The interaction and the networking that these students have with the industry is remarkable. That’s priceless for the students, and I think this is really going to ignite their desire to go into hospitality. I’ve already gotten emails from students saying how much this means to them. I think they appreciate that Marriott and DePaul have taken an interest in their success.”
Presenting business solutions to industry leaders as class projects. Connecting with executives for real-life lessons in the field. Learning without leaving the office. The Driehaus College of Business’s deep ties to the business community allow DePaul students to benefit in all of these ways and more, whether through undergraduate opportunities or graduate level linkages. Connections with corporations and firms help students develop marketable skills and prepare them for in-demand careers. For alumni, these connections help build career-advancing networks, as well as DePaul affinity and pride. Read more about some of the initiatives that connect DePaul to industry and showcase how a real-world, career-focused business education benefits everyone involved.
In 2004, 3M was the first corporation to approach DePaul about developing a sales leadership education program. “Today, we have 64 business partners—companies that provide funding and internships, guide curriculum design, lecture in classes, coach students, provide technologies and data for projects, and offer outstanding career opportunities,” says Dan Strunk, executive in residence and managing director of the Center for Sales Leadership. “This collaborative effort between business and academia is preparing the next generation of talent. Everyone wins—the students, the businesses and the university.”
The center partners with Fortune 500 companies, including PepsiCo, Chase, MillerCoors and Wrigley, to shape its curriculum and stay relevant in an ever-changing job market. Students in the Sales Leadership Program can earn a minor or concentration by choosing between two tracks: sales in any industry or category management in the consumer products industry, which looks at grouping products to optimize relevance and sales.
Alexis Gordon (BUS ’14), Tyler Hensala (BUS ’13), Claire Hanold (BUS ’13) and Simone Caron-Vera (BUS ’15) connected to careers at PepsiCo through DePaul’s corporate partnerships.
The program’s case-study structure lets students merge theory with practice and provides immediate interaction with company representatives. Leah Sbigoli (BUS ’11) remembers working with Walgreens and Roundy’s in a space management class to create a business plan for optimizing energy drink sales. “In the end, we got to present to the actual category managers at the company and show them our recommendations. I felt like I was seeing the immediate benefits of my education,” says Sbigoli, who now is a space management analyst for partner company Walgreens.
Ren Stoecklin (BUS ’13) agrees. “You knew that you were being given real-life data and that at the end of the quarter, you’d be presenting to industry experts. It really forced you to not just consider it a school assignment, but to consider it a job interview every time you were presenting a final,” says Stoecklin, who worked as a category analyst in partner company Red Bull’s graduate program, an 18-month rotational program for leadership training.
Another program graduate, Claire Hanold (BUS ’13), was impressed by how welcoming the corporate partners were. “They never once treated us like we were college students; they treated us like their business partners and wanted to help each of us individually in any way they could,” says Hanold, who is now a category analyst for partner company PepsiCo’s Foodservice Division. “As an alumna looking back, I owe my success to this program. The professors provided me with the tools and resources to be successful and helped me make connections with our incredible business partners along the way.”
The center’s corporate partnerships also help students see how schoolwork can prepare them for life—and employment—after graduation.
“A lot of time in the classroom concepts and theories can get lost on students if they can’t find a way to apply them to real-life situations,” Sbigoli notes. “By DePaul having connections to companies through the Sales Leadership Program, students can apply [lessons] taught in the classroom directly to their work with these companies. This helps students form connections early on with these companies and develops their skills over time. Students graduate from the program already knowing what to expect from the position they want, and in return companies have a reputable candidate pool to choose from.”
Building any kind of business requires passion and hard work, but it also requires know-how and network connections. For more than three decades, the highly regarded entrepreneurship education program at DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business has been helping its graduates blend these ingredients together to achieve success.
“You just don’t fall into a successful business. It takes originality, insight, research, training and perseverance,” says Harold Welsch (BUS ’66, MBA ’68), founder and director of DePaul’s entrepreneurship program and the Coleman Foundation Chair in Entrepreneurship.
DePaul’s approach has received national recognition, most recently from The Princeton Review, which rated DePaul’s undergraduate program as 15th and the graduate program as 20th in this year’s ranking of the best colleges for entrepreneurs. In a field of 3,000 participating schools, that puts DePaul in the top 1–2 percent in the United States.
The college’s entrepreneurship program began in 1982, and Welsch says the discipline is even more popular today. “We teach our students to be constantly aware of new opportunities by applying their creativity and innovativeness to adapt to new markets,” says Welsch.
Entrepreneurship is about more than startups. As the following stories show, lessons alumni learn at DePaul can be applied to jobs as disparate as running a family business, founding a nonprofit and helping companies expand.
Bailey Glendenning, CEO of Glendenning Brothers Inc. (MBA ’14)
For Bailey Glendenning, DePaul offered a hands-on program and concepts she could immediately use at her family’s business.
“The fun thing about my position is I could learn it in class on Tuesday night and walk into work to apply it on Wednesday,” she says.
Glendenning Brothers Inc., a transportation company in Stillman Valley, Ill., has been in business for 35 years, “but I view it as an entrepreneurial venture,” Glendenning says. “We’re trying to re-create our business, make it better, innovate and change.”
While earning her degree, Glendenning became fascinated by entrepreneurship after taking a class with Professor Welsch.
My perspective changed. I began to view all small business, whether startups or long-standing companies, as an opportunity to be entrepreneurial,” she says.
At DePaul, Glendenning met James Stark (MBA ’12, JD ’12), her business partner with whom she operates various other ventures through the startup C&H Financial Services Inc. She says DePaul taught her the importance of connecting with others. “You find out very quickly that you can’t do it all on your own. There are so many opportunities for business relationships, but you will never know if you don’t branch out and talk to people,” she says. Although running the family business is her main job, Glendenning says she really enjoys “the game of startups, where you can be completely creative.”
William R. Snow, Managing Director, Jordan, Knauff & Co. (BUS ’89, MBA ’94)
William Snow studied finance at DePaul and later earned an MBA In entrepreneurship. He credits his education with providing insights and experience that help him connect with businesses that come to his investment banking firm. “I understand the issues that owners face as they try to grow their businesses or craft an exit,” he says.
Snow describes the work at Jordan, Knauff as selling companies, raising capital for companies and advising on acquisitions. “My favorite aspects of the job are what many people dislike the most—negotiating and resolving conflict,” he says.
Snow also is a speaker and an author. In addition to writing numerous articles, an e-book he wrote in 2003, “Venture Capital 101,” found online acclaim and eventually ended up at Wiley Publishing Inc. The publisher then contacted him about writing “Mergers & Acquisitions for Dummies.”
“The lesson is to find something to offer,” Snow explains. “Stop asking and think instead about the person on the other side of the bargain. What do they get out of an interaction with you? Offering will open far more doors than asking.”
In addition, Snow advises entrepreneurs to “gain actual, real-world experience. Classes and studying are great, but you have to get out and experience business situations for yourself.”
Kyle D. Joseph, Executive Director, Foodseum; Founder/CEO ShopGab (MBA ’12)
DePaul helped Kyle Joseph pivot from being an engineer to being an entrepreneur.
“I had a lot I wanted to create, and I wanted to make my ideas come to life,” he says. He calls DePaul’s program “an amazing experience that really transformed my career path and my life.”
Joseph’s first venture was ShopGab, which began as a social shopping platform that let consumers compare products. Now he’s relaunching it as a resource for personal shoppers and high-end boutiques, allowing professionals to manage and further engage customers.
His next project is Foodseum, a Chicago-based museum devoted to food and culture. “I’ve always had a love of exploring cultures through food, and I wanted to bring that experience to people,” Joseph says.
The museum will touch on the history, preparation and creative uses of different foods, with the first exhibit devoted to hotdogs and encased meats of the world. Until the museum has a permanent space, Joseph and his team are planning pop-up locations, starting in May 2015, when the prestigious James Beard Awards for food and beverage professionals come to Chicago. In the meantime, the team has established partnerships with more than 40 local and national organizations to help design the experience, build community awareness and raise the necessary funding for the Foodseum.
“It’s been exciting to be able to move at this incredibly accelerated pace, thanks to the network I formed through DePaul and ShopGab,” Joseph says.
Michael Stadnicki, Co-Founder, Launch Franchise Development (BUS ’01, MBA ’11)
The entrepreneurial spirit has long characterized Michael Stadnicki’s work ethic.
While an undergraduate at DePaul, he won an international student business plan competition with his proposal for a wireless credit card payment system called ChargeAnywhere, which he later implemented in 750 Chicago taxicabs. After graduation, he worked at Francorp and Chicago Franchise Systems, the parent company of Al’s Italian Beef and Nancy’s Pizza. While developing the chains nationally, he returned to DePaul to further his goal of helping entrepreneurs develop through franchising.
“I’ve had the opportunity to work with all types of businesses—anything from a doggie daycare to restaurants overseas,” Stadnicki says.
Today he runs his own company, Launch Franchise Development, and operates a number of restaurants in Chicago, including the first U.S. location of the Big Cheese Poutinerie, a Canadian franchise that celebrates poutine, a traditional combination of French fries, fresh cheese curds and gravy. His company also works internationally and plans to open the first Middle East locations of Al’s Italian Beef and Nancy’s Pizza in Dubai in 2015.
Stadnicki, who was named the college’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010, urges other DePaul entrepreneurs to lean on the skills they learned in school and to adapt to change.
“Trust your instincts, trust the education that DePaul gave you, and follow your passion and your dream,” he says.
By Lori Ferguson
