DePauw formally launches School of Business and Leadership

With DePauw University President Lori White lifting her scissors high, university leaders and benefactors celebrate the formal launch of the new School of Business and Leadership on Thursday. Those involved in the event include (from left) Professor Humberto Barreto, Board of Trustees Chairman Douglas Smith, Student Body President Paige Burgess, Jeff Ubben, Sharon Ubben, White, Steve Sanger, SBL Dean John Clarke and Vice President Dave Berque.

Courtesy DePauw University

Touting a “holistic approach” to educating future business leaders, DePauw University officially launched its School of Business and Leadership (SBL) on Oct. 4 and 5.

The two-day event was capped with an event in the new school on the first floor of Harrison Hall on Thursday afternoon, with SBL Dean John Clarke, President Lori White and others offering remarks and cutting the ribbon on the new space.

Although the SBL is considered a “school” unto itself, the goal is for it to also fit in the larger framework of the university and its 186-year tradition in the liberal arts.

“The DePauw School of Business and Leadership is different from many of the business schools in that our SBL doesn’t just serve students in the business school, but it serves all students,” White said. “The new SBL is a natural evolution to all the things DePauw has done so well for generations.”

Douglas Smith, a 1985 DePauw graduate who chairs the board of trustees, noted that it is no accident that the SBL occupies the first floor of Harrison Hall rather than being a new structure unto itself. Business students will utilize resources across campus, not simply in the School of Business and Leadership.

“All of the resources a student needs to graduate from the SBL are not right here (in this building) — and that’s intentional,” Smith said. “I’m grateful every day for my DePauw education, and I’m confident the SBL will continue to prepare our students.”

Clarke noted that his charge is to serve every student at DePauw, not just business students.

“We’re taking a holistic approach, an integrative school throughout all the programs at DePauw,” Clarke said, noting the goal to have “students who understand how to balance our needs with the needs of future generations.”

The ribbon cutting served as the capstone to a two-day event that also included a Wednesday talk titled “Leadership, Philanthropy and the Liberal Arts,” featuring Steve Sanger, Jeff Ubben and Jon Fortt, all noted DePauw graduates in the business world.

At Thursday’s event, White recalled her final conversation with Tim Ubben, Jeff’s father and a longtime benefactor of the university who passed away in December. Calling the elder Ubben a “lovable curmudgeon,” she noted how he gave a sizable gift for the establishment of the SBL two months sooner than he had originally planned, simply because White called him.

In the end, Ubben didn’t live to see his originally-planned February giving date. Regardless, he was a supporter of the new school whose fruition he did not live to see.

“Tim believed the SBL was a way to expand out the well-rounded experience we give our students inside and outside the classroom,” White said.

The SBL has been serving students since fall classes began in August.