Gary Chen
Assistant Professor
PhD, Accounting, Northwestern University
What brought you to DePaul? I joined DePaul because of its excellent and diverse faculty who I am enthusiastic to interact with as colleagues. I am also impressed with the speed in which DePaul innovates its education to meet the changing demands of business. The university’s embrace of technology and its location in the heart of the city make DePaul a great place to be.
What are you most excited about as you begin this new chapter? I have experiences and training in both accounting and engineering. I am excited to collaborate with the faculty in developing research ideas and sharing innovations in teaching. I look forward to connecting with and guiding students of all backgrounds at DePaul in their education and career pursuits.
What do you teach and research? I teach accounting information systems and financial accounting. I also do research in these areas, taking an interdisciplinary approach. My research provides new perspectives on how accounting disclosures are important through the lens of corporate social responsibility, information technology, finance, labor relations and supply chain management.
What do you like to do for fun? I enjoy spending time with my family and close friends. whether playing with the kids, watching a movie or traveling. Sometimes, I like to experiment with new cooking recipes, play video games or catch sports on TV (Bears, Bulls, Cubs or Blackhawks) when I get the time.
Tom Festle (BUS ’82, MS ’82)
Professional Lecturer
MS, Accountancy, DePaul University
What brought you to DePaul? DePaul was part of my life for as long as I can remember. My parents met, and both graduated, from DePaul in education. My grandfather, Frank McGrath, was the longtime assistant men’s basketball coach, complementing the legendary Ray Meyer. My siblings and I grew up watching games at Alumni Hall when we were young. In those years, the basketball program had a few great players, but more importantly, helped develop some of the finest leaders in Chicago business, law and government.
Undecided about my major, I found that I really enjoyed my accounting classes and professors; even then, DePaul had a great accounting and tax program. I was part of the inaugural Master of Accountancy program, where I had the opportunity to be a teaching assistant and to take classes with some great teachers and even greater fellow students, many of whom are still friends to this day.
My degree was pivotal to my future happiness and success. With a strong accounting background, I was able to expand my business career so much over the last 35 years, working with multinational companies, as a Big Four partner, CFO of a private equity portfolio company and the U.S. CFO of RWE Renewables, one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing renewable energy companies.
What are you most excited about as you begin this new chapter? My youth was formed by many great adults, who were role models in giving back to the community by being informal teachers to young people eager to learn. I hope to bring this kind of enthusiasm to my students, so that they have the same opportunity that I did.
What do you teach? I teach financial reporting, which was probably my favorite class when I was an undergrad. I am also teaching a new class for the college called Business 101, designed to expose students to effectively working in small teams while giving them an introduction to the various business majors and the many ways DePaul can support them.
What do you like to do for fun? My wife, Jackie, and I have three children, and we love watching them all grow up through their various extracurricular activities. We coached their volleyball teams, learned to love field hockey and picked up enough about soccer that I refereed at the youth and high school level for many years. I still enjoy road biking, downhill skiing and traveling internationally whenever possible.