Thank you for your interest in Northern Illinois University's College of Business. The College of Business was founded in 1961 and moved into its state-of-the-art home, Barsema Hall, in 2002. In its 47 year history, the college has graduated graduated more than 40,000 alumni, many of whom have gone on to become successful business executives in the Chicago area and around the world. Because of its proximity to Chicago, NIU's College of Business is able to build partnerships with many firms, alumni, and business leaders. Thus, the college's brand identity—Where the Classroom Meets the Business World—is put in practice throughout the educational experience. Undergraduate and graduate students in NIU's College of Business can expect visits from business professionals in the majority of their classes. They will have the chance to attend keynote presentations featuring executive level experts on current business topics such as ethics in business, global competitiveness, and entrepreneurship. They will have the opportunity to work on projects to solve real business problems for organizations. They can plan on help from the college's alumni and business partners when seeking an internship experience, and they can also count on attending the largest job fair in Illinois when seeking employment after graduation.
The college is home to outstanding faculty committed to a balanced mission where educating students and exploring new knowledge through academic research are equally important. Only academically qualified and professionally qualified instructors—the majority of whom worked in the private sector before becoming professors—teach in the college's undergraduate and graduate programs. In addition to being acknowledged for excellence in teaching, NIU's College of Business faculty are recognized internationally for their research, publications, and textbooks.
Students, faculty, recruiters, and business partners alike seek out the excellent programs in the college, which has been ranked for two consecutive years (2006, 2007) by BusinessWeek as among the best undergrad b-schools in the nation. The college's outstanding programs include the highly ranked undergraduate and graduate accounting programs, top rated professional sales program, the finance department's student managed portfolio, the OM&IS unique curriculum blending operations and technology education, the management department's strong human resources focus, and the M.B.A. Program, ranked for two consecutive years (2006, 2007) by Crain's Chicago Business as one of the top programs in Chicago. Throughout the college, there is a continuous focus on excellence and on identifying and implementing innovative, current practices. Day to day, it is an exciting place to be!
I am pleased you took the time to visit our website. I look forward to your participation in the NIU College of Business, whether as a student, faculty member, alumnus, business partner, or friend of the college. Please feel free to contact me in the Dean's Office if you would like to learn more about the college.
Sincerely,
Denise D. Schoenbachler, Dean
NIU College of Business
Where the Classroom Meets the Business World
denises@niu.edu
1(815) 753-6225