Welcome New and Returning Students

As we embark upon a new school year, I want to personally welcome you to UIC and the College of Business Administration! You may be a returning student with one semester left before you graduate or you may be a new student ready take your first class at UIC, whatever the case, we are happy you are here and wish you a very successful year!

To begin with, I want every student to know that the UIC Business Undergraduate Programs office (we’re on the 11th floor of UH) is here to assist you.  We work collaboratively with our own Business Career Center and other academic support units on campus to help students reach their goals. We offer assistance in registration, choosing a major or a minor, checking your degree progress, probation, major advising, helping you to engage in extracurricular and co-curricular activities and events, just to name a few.  As your assistant dean, I pledge that our team will strive to ensure that each student achieves academic success. We recognize that every student’s “story” is unique; our advisers understand that and work tirelessly to ensure you are on a timely path toward graduation.  Plan to see your adviser at least once per semester.

However, academic success is only part of your story. We are working on new initiatives to bring you added programming that will sharpen your “soft” skills. These are the skills that we do not find in a text book; they are learned through experience with thoughtful and deliberate practice.  These are abilities like leadership, negotiation, communication, presentation, collaboration and critical thinking skills. They are the qualities that prepare you for growth in your career but have the added effect of making you a better student in the process.  One of the first pieces of advice that most any faculty, staff or alum would offer is this:  Get involved; join a student organization, volunteer on or office campus, attend a workshop or speaking event. Whatever you do, be deliberate. Develop YOUR path to academic and professional success and take those steps to get there!  As the great hockey player, Wayne Gretzky once said, “You will miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take.”

And finally, I want to formally invite you to the UIC Welcome Back Luau taking place this Thursday, August 29 from 3 to 6 p.m. at Harrison Field (on Harrison between Morgan and Halsted). There will be entertainment (hula dancers, DJ, limbo contest) food and activities (sumo wrestling, bungee run, jousting, volleyball, bags and tug of war). There will be two different raffles one for an iPad Mini and one for a UIC bookstore gift card. Please RSVP by clicking on the link below.  https://cba-luau.eventbrite.com/.

I hope to see you there!