2023-2024 Gies Business Annual Report

Leaving a Legacy for a Purposeful Future

More than a dean Letter from leadership

When Dean Brown stepped into his leadership role in 2015 as the College’s tenth dean, he set out to elevate an already successful business school to new heights –expanding our land-grant mission on a global scale.

Under his guidance, we all worked together to transform business education. It was a truly collaborative effort. Together, we took risks other business schools weren’t taking and pushed boundaries further than other business schools were pushing.

With the launch of our online MBA program in 2016, we stepped into new territory. And when we secured a landmark naming gift the following year, we dove into a whole new era, proudly equipped with a brand-new name – Gies College of Business.

Since then, we haven’t stopped pressing forward. We’ve reached new learners from around the world through our online programs while revamping our undergraduate curriculum and enhancing our on-campus graduate programs.

And along the way, we’ve worked to instill a sense of purpose in our learners, encouraging them to channel their passions through their business endeavors and make an impact for others.

As we look ahead to a new era, we would like to thank Dean Brown for the legacy he is leaving – a legacy of purpose that will guide us into the future as we continue to discover new ways to expand access and shape purposeful leaders.

Thank you, Dean Brown, for your commitment to transforming business education. And thank you for reminding us that we're more than business. We're business on purpose.

Brooke Elliott, Executive Associate Dean of Academic Programs

Mark Peecher, Executive Associate Dean of Faculty and Research

Nerissa Brown, Associate Dean of Graduate Programs

Robert Brunner, Associate Dean for Innovation and Chief Disruption Officer

Shelley Campbell, Associate Dean of Finance and Administration

Gary Hecht, Associate Dean of Professional Education Pathways

Denise Lewin Loyd, Associate Dean for Equity

Rebecca Pagels, Associate Dean for Advancement

Nehemiah Scott, Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs

Jan Slater, Chief Marketing Officer

Louis K.C. Chan, Chair, Department of Finance

Michael Donohoe, Head, Department of Accountancy

Carlos Torelli, Head, Department of Business Administration

Thank you, Dean Brown

In September 2023, Jeffrey R. Brown, Josef and Margot Lakonishok Professor in Business and Dean, announced he would step aside from his role after the 2023-2024 academic year. In this Annual Report, we’re celebrating the College’s accomplishments during his time as dean.

More than a name

On October 26, 2017, Larry and Beth Gies invested an unprecedented $150 million in the College, launching Gies College of Business into a new era, guided by Dean Brown’s vision of purpose and innovation.

Transforming Business Education

The generous donation by Larry (ACCY ’88) and Beth (ACES ’89) Gies not only gave us a new name and stronger identity – it strengthened our culture, expanded life-changing access, made programs possible that may have once seemed out of reach, and inspired others to give.

Yearly budget of $800,000 in need-based scholarships as a direct result of the naming gift

More experiential learning opportunities

New faculty and staff Technology to expand online learning

“One

of the things I’m most proud of is that, in partnering with Larry and Beth, we have fundamentally changed the culture of this College and are shaping the future of business education.”

Dean Brown

Undergraduates celebrated Signing Day 2024, a day for sophomores to declare their majors, alongside special guest Larry Gies.

Building momentum with a culture of giving

In honor of the naming gift, we now celebrate Gies Giving Day each October to encourage the Gies Business community to take a purposeful step, anything from supporting education through a donation to participating in an act of kindness.

In recognition of Gies Giving Day 2023, learners wrote notes to thank someone who has impacted their journey and explain how they plan to “purpose it forward.” Alumni and friends participated by giving more than $114,000 in generous donations.

More than a brand

Under Dean Brown’s leadership, we’ve embraced “Business on Purpose,” taking intentional steps to ensure our learners gain the experiences they need to succeed as purpose-driven leaders and collaborators.

Business on Purpose

This phrase is more than our brand promise. It’s the mindset that guides everything we do at Gies Business, and it serves as a reminder to learners and alumni that they can use their passions and talents to make a difference – in big and small ways.

“

Over the course of the last four years, Gies has challenged me to build a purposeful career and to express my personality and passions. I’ve gotten to know myself more than ever before, and because of Gies, I am equipped with endless resources to succeed and prosper. ”

David Ramirez (FIN ’24)

In Spring 2024, graduating seniors John Massman (ACCY ’24, left) and Brian Kamson (FIN ’24, right) received the highest recognition in their BUS 401 sections. Massman's project explored ways to reduce campus littering through an optimized system for emptying trash bins, and Kamson's project sought to help high school and middle school students understand financial principles.

All Gies Business seniors complete “purpose projects”

This past year, we transformed the final course in our four-year cohort sequence, which is a series that all undergraduates take one year at a time.

Business 401 now focuses on helping seniors explore their purpose in business by identifying a personal growth area and pursuing a “purpose project” they feel passionate about. At the end of each semester, they present their work. Classmates and leaders vote on the most impactful projects.

“ When I arrived here on campus, I really can’t say what my purpose was . . . but it’s evolved to focus on other people and how I can better my community. And I think my time here at Gies has really opened my eyes to different ways I can improve my purpose, to help other people with the knowledge I’ve been given.”

Brian Kamson (FIN ’24)

More than business

Our Purpose, Commitments, and Beliefs guide our purposeful culture. Our Purpose is our reason for existing. Our Commitments are the core principles that guide everything we do and shape how we approach business education. And our Beliefs support our Commitments and reflect how we work together to live out our Purpose.

Since their launch in 2022, we’ve worked together to strengthen our connection to them in everything we offer. Now, we’re excited to share them more broadly with our Gies Business community and friends.

A group of accounting students embodied our Purpose, Commitments, and Beliefs by volunteering their time to help others through the Chicago Housing Equity Neighbors in Need grant from the provost this spring.

Purpose

Gies Business shapes purposeful leaders through life-changing access to education, research, and innovation.

Commitments

Expand ACCESS to world-class business education, transforming lives in an inclusive culture where all are seen, heard, and valued.

Foster EXCELLENCE in scholarship and teaching that provides value for business and society and delivers educational opportunities at all stages in the learner journey.

Fuel INNOVATION through a diverse, engaged community that’s inspired to discover new ways to do business and new ways to teach business.

INCLUSION permeates all of our commitments and everything we do. Inclusion is essential for our scholars, learners, teachers, and leaders to thrive.

Facilitate meaningful lifelong ENGAGEMENT with the Gies Business community in our pursuit of a shared purpose.

Beliefs

Common Humanity: We believe in honoring every person with dignity and respect and creating space for authenticity and opportunity.

Inclusive Belonging: We believe in building meaningful connections with empathy and fostering a community where all feel seen, heard, and valued.

Purposeful Innovation: We believe in celebrating curiosity, challenging assumptions, and pushing boundaries to lead and model what’s next.

Perpetual Learning: We believe learning and scholarship are ongoing pursuits that enrich individuals, organizations, and our community.

Meaningful Work: We believe in pursuing purpose and fulfillment to make work matter – for the betterment of ourselves and others.

Making world-class education more accessible

Life-changing access is a staple of Gies Business. We’re creating programs and initiatives that reach a wider range of learners from different backgrounds and different stages of life.

Our current enrollment

Since Dean Brown stepped into his role, we’ve doubled our enrollment and are now reaching more learners than ever before. Our undergraduate enrollment has remained strong, while our graduate enrollment has increased dramatically. And we’ve greatly expanded the reach of our business minor for undergraduates majoring outside business.

7,500+ graduate learners enrolled

3,000+ undergraduates enrolled in business majors

2,000+ undergraduates enrolled in the business minor

Meeting learners where they are

With Dean Brown’s visionary leadership, we’ve created more entry points to business education. And we continue to add to our offerings in innovative ways.

We’ve invested time and effort into growing the online MBA program (iMBA), which launched soon after Dean Brown stepped into his role. We suspended our in-person MBA programs to refocus our resources on the iMBA, giving learners around the globe unprecedented access to our esteemed program taught by world-renowned faculty.

Following the success of the iMBA, we launched other online programs – creating more opportunities for online learners to interact with classmates around the world and immediately apply what they learn to their career.

“The university had decided to stop its on-campus MBA, and to me, this showed the university’s commitment. They moved all the resources from the on-campus MBA program to

the

online MBA, so students have access to the same faculty and the same resources. That was a really big factor, convincing me they were serious about online learning.”

Georgios Alexandros Lagogiannis (MBA ’22)

Earned MBA from Greece

Alumni and learners from online programs gathered on campus for iConverge last fall.

Creating unique opportunities to gain business skills

In 2018-2019, we welcomed learners to the Master of Science in Management (MSM) program for the first time. Designed for graduates with a bachelor’s degree outside of business, MSM learners can set themselves up for career success by adding business and leadership skills.

Building toward an MBA

In 2023, we announced that learners can “stack” at least a portion of any Gies Business master’s program into the iMBA program, meaning learners from any Gies Business online or on-campus master’s program can apply at least some of their credit toward earning their MBA.

New certificate opportunities

Starting in Spring 2024, online learners can earn a graduate certificate while pursuing an online master’s degree, helping them with their professional goals and growth while still earning their degree. Learners can continue to stack Gies Business graduate certificates into our master’s programs, as well as courses into certificates.

Enhancing the learning experience

To meet demand for online and in-person learning, we’ve grown our Teaching and Learning unit by almost ten times. This unit supports faculty to enhance teaching and drive innovation in our classes.

Creating a culture of belonging

A fundamental part of our focus on purpose is ensuring a sense of belonging for everyone at Gies Business. We continue to work toward an inclusive and welcoming environment where everyone can thrive.

Selected to host 2024 AMA Diversity Leadership Institute

Gies Business was selected to host the 2024 American Marketing Association (AMA) Diversity Leadership Institute this June. The annual four-day retreat gives 20-25 undergraduate students from underrepresented backgrounds the opportunity to network with each other and participate in small groups led by representatives from our academic and professional community and the AMA’s larger professional and collegiate communities.

“As the home to the first collegiate AMA chapter in the country, it has been especially meaningful for Gies to provide an opportunity to immerse underrepresented marketing students in an intimate learning experience with leading marketing faculty and practitioners

. ”

Tekita Bankhead, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (joined the Office of DEI in this newly created position in late 2023)

Launching the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

In 2020, we launched a new office dedicated to helping all feel seen, heard, and valued at Gies Business. Denise Lewin Loyd, a professor in business administration whose research focuses on diversity and teams, became the associate dean for equity. Since then, the office has grown, creating faculty and staff affinity groups while also leading and supporting various events and programming that celebrate diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Each year, the Business Instructional Facility (BIF) entryway poster features the names of our Gies Business learners, faculty, and staff – more than 11,000 names.

In 2024, graduating marketing senior Caren Morris (pictured) was one of 10 Dean's Scroll Award recipients, one of 100 undergraduates on the Poets&Quants “Best & Brightest Business Majors” list nationwide, and student speaker at Gies Business Convocation.

Providing experiential learning to all undergraduates

In the last nine years, we’ve revamped our undergraduate core courses. Along with other improvements, the College now ensures all juniors take an experiential learning course, giving all Gies Business undergraduates the opportunity to gain the valuable experience of working on a team, directly with a client – regardless of their work experience outside the classroom.

“Going into the class this semester, I had very little experience with consulting or working with a client on a real-life project, so I wasn’t very confident in myself . . . but by the end of the semester, I had grown so, so much. I’ve learned a lot, but I’ve also become a lot more confident in myself – with asking questions, answering questions with the team, and also when it comes to interacting with the client. ”

Hannah Blanchette (Marketing, Information Systems ’25)

Embracing purposeful innovation

Under Dean Brown’s leadership, we’ve taken major leaps forward in how we reach and shape learners – thinking creatively and strategically about what a business education looks like. And we’ve prepared our learners to think beyond the ordinary.

Investing in teaching and research excellence

Promoting entrepreneurial and strategic thinking through coursework

In the last decade, we’ve created undergraduate majors that add a strong foundation of data science to accounting, finance, and business administration. We've introduced a strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship major and an undergraduate entrepreneurship certificate. And we’ve embraced data analytics throughout our program offerings, including the creation of a master’s in business analytics

We've fostered excellence in teaching and research during Dean Brown's time, creating new professorships and fellowships. And we've grown our renowned faculty and expert staff to create a purposeful experience for each of our learners. Hear from some

Groundbreaking research and exploration

In 2020, we created the Gies Business Research Lab (GBRL) to foster impactful research through support and resources.

“Our study using BioLab sensors is just the beginning of a series of studies that we will run in the lab to help prepare our students for real-world scenarios. These types of studies would not be possible without the support of the College and the participation of students and alumni, who bring valuable industry experience to our research.”

Jenny Ulla, Assistant Professor of Accountancy

GBRL’s BioLab allows researchers to collect data using eye tracking, facial expression analysis, and galvanic skin response sensors.

Professor launches program to bridge STEM and business

This year, we announced that we’ve teamed up with the US National Science Foundation (NSF) to launch AccelCorps™, a groundbreaking pilot program that empowers academics to transform their research into marketable products and companies.

The pilot program is designed and led by Research Professor Joseph Cheng, an expert on global innovation and entrepreneurship The initiative is funded by a three-year, $5 million NSF grant.

Creating new real estate academy

In 2023-2024, we launched the Real Estate Finance Academy for undergraduates through our Department of Finance. The five-semester program offers additional courses, internships, case competitions, and networking opportunities in real estate, which is broadly recognized as the world's largest investment asset class.

Implementing AI in the classroom

Gies Business has explored ways to harness the power of artificial intelligence to aid in the student learning experience, forming a faculty working group dedicated to the topic.

Faculty have used AI in grading and have encouraged learners to experiment with AI prompts. This past year, Clinical Associate Professor Vishal Sachdev went a step further, developing new ways for bots to support learners through feedback and guidance in his “IT for Networked Organizations” course.

40% increase in faculty

5x growth in graduate program enrollment

Leaving a Legacy

“In the future, we need to be building up our capabilities to engage with people all over the world at any time in their lives, when they need it, in a way that's affordable and accessible. And the University of Illinois could be the place to do that first.”

Dean Brown

Over the last nine years, Gies Business has accomplished major milestones through a collaborative effort across the College, truly enhancing life-changing access to business education. And we'll continue that meaningful work for years to come.

Gies College of Business naming 2021 Named Dean of the Year by Poets&Quants

2.5x increase in undergraduate applications

iMBA named #1 Biggest Business School Innovation of the Decade* Revamped undergraduate core curriculum

More than doubled undergraduate business minor enrollment

Launched 13 new online graduate certificates *Poets&Quants

80% increase in staff

Listen to The Gies Download podcast to hear more from Dean Brown on his transition. He reflects on the College’s collaborative accomplishments and looks ahead to what’s next at GiesBusiness.illinois.edu/GiesDownload.

HEAR FROM THE DEAN

Looking forward to our next era

As we start a new chapter at Gies Business, we’re excited for what comes next. With a strong foundation of purpose, we’re poised to embrace the future.

Marking Gies Business history

Last fall, learners, alumni, faculty, and staff signed their names on a beam that will go inside Steven S. Wymer Hall. The event took place in the Business Instructional Facility's Lincoln International Atrium, which was named in 2023 thanks to a generous gift from Chicago-based Lincoln International and a number of its leaders.

Wymer Hall, April 2024

Opening our new building

The next Gies Business dean will welcome learners to our brand-new, state-of-the-art facility, Steven S. Wymer Hall. Wymer (ACCY ’85) provided a generous naming gift for the building in 2022, and we broke ground in 2023. We’re thrilled to open this innovative space in Fall 2025.

Installation of a geothermal system for Wymer Hall received support from the Student Sustainability Committee through the Sustainable Campus Environment Fee & Cleaner Energy Technologies Fee.

Supporting student learning and innovation

We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of our generous alumni and friends, who’ve given time, talent, and monetary donations to support our learners in the classroom and beyond.

Each year, we welcome alumni to participate in experiential learning projects, speaking engagements, panels, résumé reviews, recruitment opportunities, and more.

Highlighting recent generosity

This past year, we celebrated the generosity of many alumni and friends, including a gift from 1961 marketing alum Anthony (Tony) J. Petullo and his wife, Bev, to establish the Petullo Impact Fund. The fund will invest in faculty in the form of professorships, fellowships, chairs, PhD and postdoc support, and faculty research support. The gift will also create endowment funds for the College of Fine and Applied Arts.

We also recently celebrated the establishment of the Gilmore Business and Social Innovation Fund, generously created by MBA alumni Camille Chang Gilmore and Deryk Gilmore. This fund aims to foster equitable opportunities for students interested in experiential learning and commemorates the legacy of Dr. Paul Magelli, the namesake of the Magelli Office of Experiential Learning. The fund will also support the School of Social Work.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE

Alumni can learn more about making an impact for learners at GiesBusiness.illinois.edu/alumni.