2020 Gies College of Business Annual Report

2019-2020 ANNUAL REPORT

WE PREPARE FOR THE

unexpected

“

The exceptional structure we already had in place enabled us to move 4,000 students to online learning in just seven days.

– Dean Jeffrey Brown

To say spring semester 2020 was a wild ride would be an understatement. On March 13, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision was made to move all instruction online. As an early adopter of eLearning, nearly 3,500 of our 7,500 students were already part of our fully online iMBA and iMSA programs. The exceptional structure we already had in place, combined with the commitment of our incredible online learning team and dedicated faculty, enabled us to move 4,000 students to online learning in just seven days.

Our reputation for excellence in online delivery put us in an enviable position. Other

colleges reached out, and we shared content, resources, and expertise to help with their transition. Nathan Allen, a reporter for Poets&Quants, reached out too, asking me to take a virtual ride for a virtual chat about virtual learning.

As an avid cyclist, it reminded me of an important principle: when you ride as a pack, you go farther and faster. We certainly did that at Gies this year, putting pedal to the metal and managing the challenge together.

Jeffrey R. Brown, Dean

”

WE PREPARE THROUGH EXCELLENCE IN

online learning When these students gathered in the Business Instructional Facility for Gies Signing Day on March 5, they declared their major and celebrated together. Despite moving to online learning two weeks later, our students smiled for the camera, showing their Gies pride while on Zoom. Though the change certainly presented an unprecedented challenge, our early

adoption, investment, and success in online delivery prepared the College to navigate the unexpected

and positioned our students to forge ahead with the same high-quality education, just a different delivery system.

“

Done right, online education is surprisingly intimate. When you call on a student in a live Zoom session, she pops up in front of you, looking you straight in the eye. There is no back seat in online education—every student is in the front row.

”

–Larry DeBrock, Dean Emeritus and Professor of Finance

WE PREPARE BY

imagining the future At Gies, we are revolutionizing online education. With the launch of our iMBA in 2016 and iMSA in 2017, two of the largest and most reputable online graduate programs in the world, we

made a commitment to invest in the human and capital resources needed to imagine the future of online learning—a future that came more quickly because of the COVID-19 crisis. Our

investment ensured not only that we could quickly transition to the new reality, but that we are ready for what others haven’t even thought of yet—new ways to

iMSM launched

deliver high-quality, engaging content at scale.

When you have an opportunity to meet your land-grant mission of increasing access and affordability, you don’t let a pandemic stop you. That’s why, in June, Gies launched the online Master of Science in Management (iMSM). “Many early career professionals want to add business to their skill set but can’t quit their job to do it,” said Associate Dean Brooke Elliott. “The one-year iMSM changes that by delivering a careerfocused curriculum that allows them to take what they’ve learned in the classroom and immediately apply it on the job.”

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For Gies, moving all online was not an experiment in emergency instruction, as it was for other business schools. We were ready because we have an entire organization devoted to excellence in online learning and extensive experience delivering it.

– Norma Scagnoli, Senior Director of eLearning

”

WE PREPARE BY SUPPORTING

lifelong learning Not every learner wants to earn a degree. Some are looking to upskill or reskill; others want to pursue noncredit courses as a first step toward earning more advanced credentials.

We have the online learning expertise and infrastructure to serve these lifelong learners. Our stackable options provide direct access to Gies online content and allow all learners to choose their point of entry and their path on the continuum, from skill development to degrees. This flexible, stackable structure makes a Gies education accessible for all lifelong learners. It is also the foundation of our Enterprise Partners program, which offers employers the opportunity to advance their workforce through customized online and on-site educational experiences. For employees, the program helps accelerate their careers. For employers, it advances the organization. For all lifelong learners, Gies online learning means they have the power of a world-class college behind them.

Certificates, noncredit workshops, digital badges

iCademies that include noncredit content centered on skill development

Graduate certificates

100% online graduate degrees, including the iMBA, iMSA, and iMSM

“

The model at Gies includes flexible, stackable options that help you get over the hurdle of being a student again. You can audit a Gies class through Coursera. You can work toward a specialization.

You can get your feet wet without having to take the full plunge.

– Karen Lubeck, MBA ’20

”

WE PREPARE WITH

intention

Intentionality is a Gies guidepost. We are purposeful in our decision-making and actively engage to make a difference. So as business leaders looked for direction on how to navigate the challenges of COVID-19, it was natural for Gies faculty to step in quickly to share their expertise. Our world-renowned faculty in data science, ethics, consumer behavior, economics, and other disciplines developed an ongoing series of webinars to address the business implications of this global health crisis and provide strategies as leaders look to ensure the stability of their business enterprise.

Thousands of business leaders from across the world joined us online to gain valuable information and ask questions of our experts. Gies students get the benefit of our faculty’s expertise every day. Through this initiative, we shared it with the world.

Gies faculty share their expertise Educators are also looking for advice as they quickly pivot to online learning.

As global leaders in eLearning, Gies faculty are sharing their expertise to help their peers make the transition. Professor Larry DeBrock, Clinical Professor Fataneh Taghaboni-Dutta, and Senior Director of eLearning Norma Scagnoli authored “The Human Element in Online Learning,” published in Inside Higher Ed, to provide strategies for success.

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As teachers and researchers, we have a natural inclination for problem solving. At Gies, we’re intentional about sharing our expertise in a way that helps leaders find solutions to the business and educational challenges they face.

– Carlos Torelli, Professor of Business Administration

”

WE PREPARE BY EXPANDING

access to business education An architecture student wants to understand the basics of accounting so she’ll be ready to open her own business. A media major knows that finance courses will provide a good foundation as he seeks a job as a business reporter. An agriculture student wants to add marketing fundamentals to her skill set to distinguish herself in the job market. At Gies, the business minor opens doors for these students and hundreds more.

A recent initiative by undergraduate affairs has streamlined the process and offered the program online,

providing wider access for more students to gain the practical business skills that will set them apart. Students in other majors have two choices—complete a business minor or take a course or two to introduce them to business.

1200+ Students declared a business minor

4

Core courses required; 2 from BA, 1 from FIN, 1 from ACCY

18

Credit hours required

from across campus tell us that the “Deans business minor makes every Illinois degree

more valuable because students can pursue their passion and add business skills that make them more marketable.

– Kevin Jackson, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Affairs

”

Pivoting to remote access When campus closed in mid-March, the Office of Undergraduate Affairs moved quickly to offer online opportunities for admitted students to learn more about Gies and to work with advisors remotely to register for classes. Gies Experience, an on-campus day for students and families to familiarize themselves with the programs, services, and people of the College, was converted to a virtual event attended by 70 admitted students, 30 faculty and staff, and 20 student admissions team members. Even Larry Gies was online to welcome the students.

The undergraduate affairs team has also pivoted to remote access for admitted student registration, which under normal circumstances would be held on campus in the summer. Being nimble, deliberate, and creative are Gies characteristics that expand life-changing access to business education.

WE PREPARE

purposeful leaders

Brock Kreitzburg leads a team that monitors the world for disasters and prepares them to respond. This year, that meant opening two 68-bed field hospitals, one in Italy and one in Central Park, to care for coronavirus patients. It’s a job where decisions have to be made quickly, where learning often occurs on the fly. Kreitzburg’s iMBA experience gives him the tools to do that. Often

what he learns in the online

classroom one day he can apply the next, he said, because the course content is relevant and real and has an immediate impact. “Each day I lean on the concepts I’ve learned in the Gies online classroom to make good decisions in managing our response to crises around the world.”

Courtesy of Samaritan’s Purse.

MAKING AN IMPACT iMBA student Jason Thompson is also using his Gies experience to serve others during the pandemic. His recycling company, American Property Experts, supplies biofuel to paper mills making PPE, which has meant long hours and increased production. Thompson is also chair of the board of trustees for New Hanover Regional Medical Center. He chose the Gies iMBA for its quality, affordability, and flexibility—as a business owner with 24 employees, he needed an online option so he could continue to manage the company while earning his degree. It’s a decision that benefits him in his business and volunteer roles. “My professors taught me to always ask, ‘What does that data mean?’

Now I understand things on a deeper level.”

to the iMBA program with a strong sense “Iofcame purpose in my work. At Gies, I’ve found a collaborative environment and an innovative curriculum that supports that purpose.

”

– Brock Kreitzburg, MBA ’21, Director, International Disaster Response Unit, Samaritan’s Purse

Sam Skinner, ACCY ’60, has made a lifelong commitment to public service, so when Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked him to lead the city’s COVID-19 Recovery Taskforce, he enthusiastically agreed. “My education at the University of Illinois trained me to run into the fire,” said the former White House chief of staff and secretary of transportation for President George H.W. Bush. He credits accounting professors Vernon Zimmerman and Ken Perry for fostering leadership and emphasizing problem solving, which he uses when approaching any crisis. “Prioritize and create a plan that is achievable. Don’t try to be everything to everybody. Seek advice from others that you respect, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.”

When thousands of internships were cancelled because of the pandemic, Alex Littleton, FIN ’18, at left, and Walker Post, JOUR ’18, launched the COVID-19 Business Fellowship Program to match Illinois students with small businesses looking for ways to engage customers in the “new normal.” They turned to Gies faculty and alumni to help shape the idea and conducted a statewide survey to determine what support businesses needed most. The answer: digital and social media assistance.

This summer, and hopefully for many summers to come, the program will give students invaluable experience as they help businesses create innovative, digital-first marketing, advertising, and communications projects.

WE PREPARE BY

fostering leadership Leadership lives at Gies. Every day, our faculty foster it, our students practice it, and our alumni are empowered by it. COVID-19 made that more apparent than ever.

Rachel Jacoby drew on everything she learned at Gies to launch the Chicago area chapter of Feed the Frontline, a grassroots campaign that supplies local healthcare workers with meals purchased from family-owned local restaurants as a way to support frontline workers and local businesses. In addition to co-founding the Chicago chapter, this Fulbright Scholar, who taught English in Malaysia, is finance manager for Giffords, a gun violence prevention organization.

“

My business ethics class at Gies taught me about the importance of a people-centered approach and radical transparency, and Professor Paul Magelli, who taught entrepreneurship, talked about aiming to do the most good you can.

– Rachel Jacoby, ACCY, BA ’18

”

WE PREPARE THROUGH

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innovation

The Gies Business–DPI partnership is a powerful opportunity to drive innovation and growth throughout our state.

Innovation is a strategic priority at Gies, and visionary leaders like Don (FIN ’88)

– Don Edwards, FIN ’88

and Anne (ACCY ’88) Edwards are committed to supporting the College’s innovative initiatives. Their recent $10 million gift to the University includes a $5 million commitment to support the relationship between Gies and the Discovery Partners Institute (DPI), a purpose-driven, collaborative research institute focused on growing

the state’s workforce by creating innovative solutions to grand challenges.

DPI will focus on workforce development for in-demand technology jobs and on building R&D teams in data analytics and computing for industries like agriculture, health, finance, and insurance, which have a strong presence in Illinois.

THE PROBLEM • Illinois has 30,000 more entry-level technology jobs than graduates to fill them • Each year, almost 50% of collegebound high schoolers and more than 20,000 millennials leave the state

THE DPI SOLUTION • Attract and develop the most ambitious and talented people and companies and keep them in Illinois • Generate economic activity through innovative programming • Launch the Illinois Workforce and Education Research Collaborative to improve education and job readiness

”

WE PREPARE BY ANTICIPATING

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students’ needs

This scholarship allowed me to finish my senior year after the loss of both my part-time jobs because of COVID-19. I don’t know what I would have done without the support.

– Sydney Zupan, BA ’20

”

Our students are at the center of everything we do at Gies.

When they face academic or personal challenges, the team at our Undergraduate Success Lab is ready to help with tutoring, advising, and counseling services. When the challenge is an unexpected financial hardship, the College offers assistance through the Gies

Emergency Scholarship Fund. In

the wake of the pandemic, the financial needs of students are growing, and the fund helps provide a safety net so students can continue their education uninterrupted.

$450K

Raised for emergency scholarships in response to COVID-19, providing 124 scholarships and counting*

* Through 5/31/20

Gies faculty, like Mark Wolters, are advocates for our students. During the shelter-at-home order, the teaching associate professor of business administration taught the entirety of his Principles of Marketing class in one day via livestream to raise funds for emergency scholarships for students. For more than 15 hours straight on his YouTube channel, he explained everything from basic terminology to marketing strategy, organization, and management, so anyone could have access to this useful content— all for a good cause. When the needs are unexpected, Gies faculty make a difference with expertise and action. As Wolters’ t-shirt says: Andiamo! Let’s go!

©Jeff Goldberg/Esto

generous partnerships WE PREPARE THROUGH

89.7%

$269 million

of campaign goal achieved

Raised to date*

The generosity of our alumni, friends, and corporate partners

“

Supporting students through scholarships is one of the best investments anyone can make. You have an opportunity to help launch a bright, capable young person into a rewarding career.

– Norma Lauder, ACCY ‘71

”

6,177 Donors to date

21,579 Total gifts

gives us plenty of reason to raise the roof. With their support, we

increase access, providing scholarships so talented students can find a home at Gies; kickstart

innovation, offering the most

186

Major gift donors

innovative and expansive business curriculum and programming; and

foster excellence, creating an environment where faculty and students thrive.

* Through 5/31/20

1206 S. Sixth Street Champaign, IL 61820 217.333.2747 GiesBusiness.illinois.edu