Spring 2008 Issue - NIU College of Business - Northern Illinois ...

Briefly NotedBarsema Hall Five-Year AnniversaryCelebration. In fall 2007, the NIU College of Businesscelebrated the five-year anniversary of Barsema Hall.College of Business Dean Denise Schoenbachlerand student, faculty, and staff representatives madeindividual presentations on behalf of all NIU College ofBusiness stakeholders. Their presentations honored thetremendous generosity of Dennis (B.S. Management1977) and Stacey Barsema, and also acknowledgedthe profound depth of the Barsemas’ belief in the NIUCollege of Business, which prompted the original $25million investment. The evening’s celebration includeda speech by Dennis Barsema, a jazz ensembleperformance, food and festivities for students, alumni,and friends. A fantastic fireworks display capped off thecelebration.Investing in the Global Initiative. The NIU Collegeof Business received a $25,000 investment from theAbbott Fund in support of the college’s global initiative.This $25,000 investment adds to the $40,000 fund madeby an anonymous investor to support study abroadinitiatives.Investing in Endowed Scholarships. The collegehas been named in an estate for approximately$500,000 for endowed scholarships in the Departmentof Marketing, the Department of OperationsManagement and Information Systems, and the collegeoverall. Additionally, David and Diane Graf announceda challenge gift for the NIU College of Business Davidand Diane Graf Rockford Endowed Scholarship. TheGrafs have committed to giving $50,000 over five yearsto partially fund scholarships for a freshman businessstudent who enrolls at NIU’s main campus in DeKalb,and to a transfer student who enrolls in the businessadministration program at NIU Rockford.Grants for Student Projects. The McKessonFoundation donated a grant to provide funding tothe NIU College of Business Experiential LearningCenter (ELC) for market research and assistance tothe We Care Pregnancy Center in DeKalb, Illinois. TheELC consultants – junior, senior and graduate-levelbusiness students – will be coached by a Departmentof Marketing faculty member and are charged withdeveloping a marketing plan and strategy to bepresented to the We Care Pregnancy Center.Northern Illinois University College of BusinessRanks among the Best Undergraduate B-Schoolsin the Nation for the Second Consecutive Year.BusinessWeek’s 2008 ranking of best undergraduatebusiness schools continues to place the NIUbusiness college within an elite group of b-schoolsnationwide. In 2008, the NIU College of Businessranked 81st nationally out of a very small group of 96elite business schools from across the country. Of the540 AACSB-accredited business colleges worldwide,127 – NIU among them – were invited to participatein the BusinessWeek ranking survey. Based uponthe publication’s ranking criteria, NIU’s College ofBusiness ranked 81st on BusinessWeek’s final short-listof 96 programs designated as “The Best UndergradNIU Business 2008 | 25