Celebrating 50 Years of UIC Business

On Friday, September 25, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend my very last Celebrating UIC Business dinner. This definitely was a bittersweet moment for me because it was my third and final year of attending the dinner as a student of the College of Business Administration. This year marked the 50^th Anniversary of the college, and in its 50-year lifespan, the college has thrived to become a top-ranked business school with an international reputation.

On this night, donors had the opportunity to meet the recipients of their generosity which included over 100 Business Scholars, as well as other CBA Scholarship Recipients. Students were given the opportunity to hear stories of inspirational alumni from all walks of life who leveraged their CBA education and turned them into successful careers. Two faculty members were recognized for their outstanding contributions to the college, and one of the faculty members was my professor for professional development in the iLead program, Michael Popowits.  I am grateful to have had Michael Popowits as my professor because his improvisational and experiential courses have prepared me as well as my peers for real-world challenges and have allowed us to create our very own “professional presence.” This was by far the largest Celebrating UIC Business event and it was gratifying to see members of the business community come together to network with the business leaders of tomorrow and offer them their support.

Currently, the college is home to four academic departments—accounting, finance, information decisions sciences, and managerial studies. The college has over 85 faculty members to teach more than 2,500 undergraduate students in seven-degree programs. In 2012, the college introduced its Business Scholars Program, an honors business program for high achieving business students. The Business Scholars program has given me the opportunity to take rigorous classes, network with the brightest of my peers, faculty, mentors, alumni, and played a great role in my education, professional development, and career aspirations.

The college has been my home for three years, and I feel a continuous amount of appreciation to be going to a fine institution such as UIC. Celebrating 50 years of the CBA was a chance to shine a light on the students, faculty, alumni, and donors who contributed to make the college a powerful institution for students like me, and it continues to evolve and prepares us for academic and professional success. I cannot wait to see what the future holds for UIC Business.