The University of Illinois and Deloitte Foundation Establish Industry Leading Center for Analytics Education

URBANA, Ill., Oct. 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The Illinois College of Business is pleased to announce the launch of the "University of Illinois-Deloitte Foundation Center for Business Analytics" at Urbana-Champaign. A $5 million gift from the Deloitte Foundation and Deloitte's retired and current partners, principals, managing directors and employees will allow Illinois College of Business to move to the head of class in business analytics education and talent development.

The Center will create a leading-edge curriculum for business analytics to provide students with the data knowledge, skills and abilities needed to become the most highly-trained business leaders of tomorrow. Through the use of data and business analytics, companies are better equipped to make enlightened financial and operational decisions, while improving their competitive position in a global marketplace.

"We are very grateful to the Deloitte Foundation and Deloitte's University of Illinois alumni for funding the Center, which will help provide Illinois a leadership role in the world of business analytics education," said Illinois College of Business Dean Jeffrey R. Brown. "With globalization, outsourcing, cloud-based computing and other technological advancements, a state-of-the-art education is critically important to prepare the business leaders of tomorrow."

"It is a natural fit for us to support the University of Illinois and its Center for Business Analytics as our organizations share a commitment to developing faculty, cultivating talent and accelerating education to meet the pace of business," said Mike Fucci, chairman of the board, Deloitte LLP and Deloitte Foundation chairman. "Together, we are better preparing students for tomorrow's business challenges and fostering a culture of collaboration."

"Students with an education in STEM disciplines are widely needed in business to help fuel economic growth, create competitive advantage and drive innovation," said Ron Sonenthal, chief operating officer, Deloitte Tax LLP and Deloitte's advisory university partner for the University of Illinois. "Deloitte recognizes the importance of analytics as a science-led, issue-driven solution to help address these business needs."  

"Specifically, the creation of the Center will allow Illinois to create, disseminate and maintain model curricula for faculty that can be made available to other colleges and institutions of higher education," said Jon Davis, head of the Department of Accountancy at Illinois. "At the Center, faculty will receive specialized training that will be integrated into existing curriculum and that may be offered online. Students will benefit because they can participate in national or global case competitions, become involved in organizations that focus on analytics and in the future be eligible for scholarships and degrees in data analytics."

The College of Business, the Deloitte Foundation and Deloitte have a long history of working together at Illinois to provide enhanced educational opportunities. In 2009, the Deloitte Auditorium in the Business Instructional Facility opened on the Urbana-Champaign campus. Today more than 700 employees at Deloitte are proud to call Illinois their alma mater.

About College of Business
The College of Business has a more than 100-year history of offering a world-class educational experience for students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. With more than 4,200 students enrolled, of which more than 3,100 are undergraduates, the College of Business offers programs in Accountancy, Business Administration and Finance. Recently, the Department of Accountancy was ranked #2 in the nation by U.S. News and World Report magazine. https://business.illinois.edu/.

About the Deloitte Foundation
The Deloitte Foundation, founded in 1928, is a not-for-profit organization which supports education in the U.S. through a variety of initiatives that help develop the talent of the future and their influencers and promote excellence in teaching, research and curriculum innovation. The Foundation sponsors an array of national programs relevant to a variety of professional services, benefiting middle/high school students, undergraduates, graduate students and faculty. For more information, please visit the Deloitte Foundation webpage at www.deloitte.com/us/df.

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society. For more information, visit Deloitte's U.S. website at: http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en.html.

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

Contact
Melissa Curtis
Public Relations
Deloitte
+1 617 437 2156
[email protected]  

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