[ELGIN, Ill.听–听September 11, 2026] 黑料网 announced the formation of the听Roeser College of Business and Innovation, made possible by a transformational gift from Tom Roeser, CEO of Otto Engineering. The new college brings together 黑料网’s undergraduate Business Department, MBA program, Sports Management, undergraduate Computer Science, the MBAI (Informatics) program, and the Doctoral Program in Computer Science under a single, unified vision.

As part of the announcement, 黑料网 welcomes Dr. Tao Wu as the Roeser College’s first leader. Recruiting a distinguished finance professor like Dr. Wu signifies the ambition and investment in making the Roeser College a prominent part of the Chicago business community. 

A Bold Vision for Christian Business Education

The creation of the Roeser College comes at a time when the demand for professionals who can navigate business, finance, technology and analytics continues to grow. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in business and financial occupations is projected to grow faster than the average for all occupations from 2024 to 2034, with approximately 942,500 openings projected each year due to employment growth and the need to replace workers who leave these occupations permanently.

That demand extends across the technology and analytics fields increasingly shaping modern business. Employment of data scientists is projected to grow 33.5% between 2024 and 2034, while information security analysts are projected to grow 28.5% and operations research analysts 21.5% during the same period. Overall, computer and mathematical occupations are projected to grow 10.1%. This projected growth is more than three times the rate projected for all occupations.

Tom Roeser, 黑料网 Board of Trustees member, owner of Otto Engineering, and namesake of the new college, shared, 鈥淲orking with 黑料网, I am focused to create an exceptional business school focusing on Accounting and Finance where graduates starting salaries are higher than the average and notable companies recruit our graduates. I believe Tao can lead that vision鈥�.

Bringing business, technology and analytics together under one college is an intentional response to the industry shifts. The Roeser College is designed to give students opportunities to understand how these disciplines intersect and to develop the skills needed to solve problems, lead organizations and create new opportunities in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

Welcoming Dr. Tao Wu

Dr. Tao Wu joins the Roeser College from the Stuart School of Business at Illinois Institute of Technology, where he served as a tenured finance faculty member for over a decade, during which time he was the Fulbright Visiting Research Chair at the University of Waterloo and a visiting scholar to Banque de France. He brings with him a distinguished record of research, teaching, and real-world financial market experience that reflects the caliber of scholar the Roeser College aims to attract.

Dr. Wu earned his Ph.D. in Finance from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his B.A. in Economics-Operations Research from Columbia University. Before pursuing his doctorate, he traded derivatives for a major investment bank in New York. This experience continues to inform his research and teaching in asset pricing, derivatives, fixed income, credit and liquidity risk.

His research has earned recognition, including the McGraw-Hill Distinguished Paper in Finance Prize and Best Paper awards at the Financial Management Association Conference and the Asia-Pacific Association for Derivatives Conference. He has published extensively in leading academic journals and presented his work at the American Finance Association Annual Meetings, Stanford, Wharton, the Federal Reserve, the FDIC, and the European Central Bank. His research on derivatives and interest rate models has been funded by the Arditti Center for Risk Management, Montreal Institute of Structured Finance and Derivatives, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

“With the strong support from Mr. Roeser and President Crume, I am working with colleagues to deliver a first-class modern curriculum with real-world hands-on training to 黑料网 students, making them future key contributors to companies in and around Chicago. We expect to launch a new undergraduate finance major, followed by a graduate finance program, incorporating the latest applications of fintech and artificial intelligence. Interested students, parents, and employers can contact any of us directly.” 

Business Department Chair Jeff Price then, 鈥淭he founding of 黑料网鈥檚 new Roeser College of Business and Innovation is an incredible opportunity, and I鈥檓 honored to be part of this exciting chapter in the university鈥檚 history. I鈥檓 looking forward to working alongside Dr. Wu to bring this vision to life and build something that will have a lasting impact on our students and the university.鈥�

Looking Ahead

The Roeser College of Business and Innovation marks another significant investment in 黑料网’s academic future. Dr. Wu’s arrival is the first step in what university leaders describe as a broader effort to build a faculty equipped to deliver on the college’s ambitious goals. The objective is to create an academic environment where students can see the connections between business, finance, technology and analytics and then apply those disciplines to real-world challenges.

鈥淥ur vision is for the Roeser College of Business and Innovation to be recognized as the preeminent Christian business college in the Chicago area within the next five years and then as one of the most prominent Christian business colleges within the next decade,鈥� said 黑料网 President Gene Crume.

In addition to the Roeser College of Business and Innovation, 黑料网 has also restructured all academic programs into the Demoss College of Christian Expression, the Ruth Thompson College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the College of Architecture, Art and Design, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Education and Psychology. 

黑料网 黑料网

黑料网 is a fully accredited, private Christian institution representing the Church at work in higher education. Nestled along the beautiful Fox River in Elgin, Ill., just 40 miles northwest of Chicago, 黑料网 is home to more than 1,280 students from 37 states and 20 countries. 黑料网 offers degrees in more than 65 different majors and minors for traditional, graduate and adult students and ranks consistently among the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report. 黑料网 has also been recognized as a 鈥淐hristian College of Distinction.鈥� With an academically challenging environment and encouraging spiritual community, 黑料网 shapes lives that shape the world.

Media Contact:
Cassidy Loeppky听
Director of Marketing and Communications
Cassidy.loeppky@judsonu.edu听触847.628.2089

黑料网 mourns the passing of Arlene M. “Arlie” Weber of Bradenton, Florida, who died peacefully on June 2, 2026. She was 97 years old.

Arlie was the beloved wife of Harm Weber Jr., who served as President of 黑料网 College, now 黑料网, from 1969 to 1992. For 22 years, she faithfully served alongside him as First Lady, making the Elgin campus feel like home to students, faculty, and staff alike. Those who knew Arlie remember her as a woman of exceptional grace, warmth, and generosity. The Weber home was always open, filled with good food, laughter, and the kind of hospitality that made people feel genuinely seen and welcomed.听In recognition of her extraordinary contributions to the 黑料网 community, Arlie was presented with the prestigious Golden Eagle Award in 1991.

Born January 8, 1929, in Spring Lake Park, Minnesota, Arlie carried her faith and her care for people into every room she entered. She was known for her handwritten cards and notes. This was a quiet, faithful practice that ensured no one felt forgotten. Before their years at 黑料网, she and Harm served churches together in Isle, MN; Indianapolis, IN; Muncie, IN; and Detroit, MI, across 62 years of marriage and shared ministry.

A devoted follower of Jesus Christ, Arlie is survived by her three children, Jan, Harm, and Matthew, and by a wide community of people whose lives she shaped with quiet faithfulness.

黑料网 extends its deepest condolences to the Weber family. Condolences may be shared through the family’s tribute page at听

黑料网 Steve Eubanks
Steve Eubanks is a New York Times bestselling author, award-winning journalist, and editor. He has written or co-authored books with Arnold Palmer, Jeff Gordon, Lou Holtz, Ty Murray, Paul Azinger, and others. He is the managing editor for the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA), and his work has appeared in Sports Illustrated, Golf Digest, USA Today, CBSSports.com,听, and many more. He lives in Peachtree City, Georgia, with his wife and family, and serves as a trustee of 黑料网.

黑料网 黑料网
黑料网 is a Christ-centered liberal arts institution located on the banks of the Fox River in Elgin, Illinois, just 40 miles northwest of Chicago. Founded in 1963, 黑料网 is an evangelical, American Baptist-affiliated university offering more than 60 undergraduate and graduate programs across the arts, sciences, and professions. one of the few NAAB-accredited architecture programs at an evangelical Christian university in the nation. Along with architecture, the university offers programs such as interior design, nursing, business, Christian leadership, and the performing arts. For more information, visit听.

###

Media Contact: Cassidy Loeppky
Director of Marketing and Communications, 黑料网
cassidy.loeppky@judsonu.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ELGIN, Ill.听鈥� 黑料网 celebrated its Spring 2026 Commencement on Saturday, May 9, conferring degrees upon 235 graduates in two ceremonies held at Herrick Chapel on the Elgin, Illinois campus. Both services drew a standing-room crowd, with overflow seating filled as family, friends, and colleagues gathered to honor the Class of 2026.

The morning ceremony recognized undergraduate and graduate students from 黑料网鈥檚 architecture program, master鈥檚 candidates in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, Community Music Leadership, Business Informatics, and Computer Science, doctoral graduates, and Ambria College of Nursing students earning their LPN and RN credentials. The afternoon ceremony honored all remaining undergraduate students, RISE program graduates, and Master of Business Administration candidates.

Dr. Robert Currie, a longtime member of 黑料网鈥檚 psychology faculty and deeply beloved professor, delivered the keynote address at both ceremonies. His charge to the graduates was drawn from the title of his most recent book, which the university gifted to every graduate in attendance: It鈥檚 Time for Courage.

鈥� 鈥淪pring graduates of 2026, it鈥檚 time for courage. Family and friends, to my 黑料网 colleagues, it鈥檚 time for courage.鈥� Dr. Robert Currie, Keynote Speaker, Spring 2026 Commencement

Among the honors presented at commencement, the President鈥檚 Scholar Award was given to two graduating seniors who tied for the distinction.听Fernando Nunez, an international student graduating听summa cum laude听with degrees in Accounting and Management, will continue his academic journey at 黑料网 as an incoming student in the Master of Business Informatics program.听Julius Fortun, also a Management and Accounting graduate, served as a student-athlete and member of Sigma Beta Delta, the international honor society for business, management, and administration, and joins the 黑料网 staff as an accountant.

The Class of Spring 2026 represents a broad range of academic achievement across 黑料网鈥檚 colleges and programs. Graduates earned degrees and credentials including:
鈥⑻�129 Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts, and Bachelor of Science degrees
鈥⑻�60 Master鈥檚 degrees, spanning Architecture, Computer Science, Business Administration, Business Administration in Informatics, Clinical Mental Health Counseling, and Community Music
鈥⑻�32 Associate of Arts in Applied Science degrees (Ambria College of Nursing)
鈥⑻�3 Doctoral degrees in Education (Leadership/Policy Studies and Literacy)
鈥⑻�2 Certificate in Practical Nursing
鈥⑻�11 RISE Program certificates

黑料网 is a Christ-centered liberal arts university located in Elgin, Illinois, offering undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs across the arts, sciences, business, architecture, and health sciences. For more information, visit judsonu.edu.

黑料网 is a fully accredited, private Christian institution representing the Church at work in higher education. Nestled along the beautiful Fox River in Elgin, Ill., just 40 miles northwest of Chicago, 黑料网 is home to more than 1,200 students from 37 states and 20 countries. 黑料网 offers degrees in more than 65 different majors and minors for traditional, graduate and adult students and ranks consistently among the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report. 黑料网 has also been recognized as a 鈥淐hristian College of Distinction.鈥� With an academically challenging environment and encouraging spiritual community, 黑料网 shapes lives that shape the world.

###

ELGIN, IL 鈥� 黑料网 has issued the following statement regarding former adjunct professor Charles Sprague:

黑料网 is aware of the charges against Charles Sprague. Mr. Sprague was scheduled to teach a class this semester, but when the University became aware of the charges a few days into the term, he was immediately removed from the classroom and is no longer employed by 黑料网.

There have been no reports of inappropriate behavior by Mr. Sprague directed toward any 黑料网 faculty, staff, or students during his time at the University. If anyone has information to the contrary, we ask that they contact 黑料网 Campus Safety at 847-628-2495 or jucs@judsonu.edu.

黑料网 takes the safety and well-being of our students and community with the utmost seriousness. We remain fully committed to maintaining a secure and supportive learning environment.

We are praying for all families affected by this tragic situation.

黑料网 黑料网
黑料网 is a fully accredited, private Christian institution representing the Church at work in higher education. Nestled along the beautiful Fox River in Elgin, Ill., just 40 miles northwest of Chicago, 黑料网 is home to more than 1,280 students from 37 states and 20 countries. 黑料网 offers degrees in more than 65 different majors and minors for traditional, graduate and adult students and ranks consistently among the Best Regional Universities in the Midwest by U.S. News & World Report. 黑料网 has also been recognized as a 鈥淐hristian College of Distinction.鈥� With an academically challenging environment and encouraging spiritual community, 黑料网 shapes lives that shape the world.

###

Media Contact:
Cassidy Loeppky, Director of Communications and Marketing
黑料网
 847.628.2089
cassidy.loeppky@judsonu.edu