One hundred years after DePaul became the first business college in the Loop, the Driehaus College of Business cut the cake on its centennial Jan. 14.
Alumni, professors, students and Dean Ray Whittington of the Driehaus College of Business reminisced and celebrated DePaul’s status as the first university to locate its business college in the Loop.
Pam Netzky, DePaul alumna and president/co-founder of SkinnyPop Popcorn, wrote that “DePaul helped me learn how to get it done … by giving me the tool to get it done,” in a recent article on the DePaul Advancement News website.
The business school prides itself on its resources, the teaching ability of its professors and the curriculum. According to the Bloomberg Business week’s 2012 undergraduate business program rankings, DePaul’s business program ranked 67th nationally, and its part-time MBA program was ranked 43rd, earning an A+ for teaching ability and an A for curriculum.
Whittington also highlighted the business students’ access to alumni. He spoke briefly at the celebration about these benefits.
“One of the programs aimed to help the students is ASK (Alumni Sharing Knowledge),” said Whittington. Through this program, students can reach out to and connect with real professionals.
“I definitely think DePaul has provided us with a lot of opportunities to talk to professors and alumni through programs like NABA (National Association of Black Accountants),” said Phil Banks, a third-year accounting student.
Lingjun Ji, a DePaul marketing student, chose her major after an experience with a good internship.
“It seems like a very creative job, and I worked with very vibrant people,” Ji said. “It is something I think I would enjoy.”
Enrollment into the business school has been consistent and is expected to grow in the coming years. The college of business has always held DePaul’s biggest group of incoming students. The college enrolled 4,251 undergraduate students and 2,107 graduate students in 2012-13, a slight increase from last year’s enrollment.
The 100th anniversary celebration not only showed how far the college has come, but it also hinted at the future success of its students.
“I plan to be an accountant for ‘The Big Four’ and earn my CPA license or maybe become a professor,” said Banks.