FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
[ELGIN, Ill.聽–聽September 11, 2026] 黑料网 announced the formation of the聽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聽
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[email protected]听触847.628.2089