Nearly 150 people gathered at the University Club of Chicago on Tuesday, October 17, 2023, to celebrate 20 years of innovation, collaboration and generosity at the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center (CEC).
With a wide range of attendees including community partners, board members, students, faculty and staff, the gathering was a testament to the CEC’s role as a hub of entrepreneurial community in Chicago. It was also a chance to celebrate the center being honored with the
Nasdaq Center of Entrepreneurial Excellence Award: the highest award a university entrepreneurship center can achieve.
Executive Director of the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center (CEC) Bruce Leech addresses the crowd at a celebration of the CEC’s 20th anniversary, held at the University Club of Chicago on Tuesday, October 17. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
Mike Hennessy, president of the Coleman Foundation from 1995 to 2020 and a key advocate for the creation of the center, speaks as Leech looks on. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
Phyllis Hollander, sister of the late Errol Halperin, whose generous gift established the Halperin Emerging Companies Fund, accepts an honor on Halperin’s behalf. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
Driehaus College of Business Dean Sulin Ba addresses attendees. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
DePaul Provost Salma Ghanem speaks. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
CEC Director of Emerging Company Programs Emily Doyle speaks. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
The crowd mingles at a reception before the dinner. Select student and community entrepreneurs supported by the CEC were invited to share their businesses with attendees. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
From left to right: Doyle, Leech and alumna Jamila Parham, recipient of an award for alumni in entrepreneurship and one of the keynote speakers for the night. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
From left to right: Leech, Doyle and alumnus Chris Campbell, recipient of an award for alumni in entrepreneurship and one of the keynote speakers for the night. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
From left to right: Doyle, Leech and Hollander. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
From left to right: Doyle, Leech and Hennessy. [Photo by Diane M. Smutney, DMS Photography.]
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From left to right: Dean of the Driehaus College of Business Sulin Ba with CEC Advisory Board co-chair Valarie King-Bailey and Vincent Bailey. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
From left to right: Nik Rokop, Coleman Foundation Clinical Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship at IIT; Associate Director of the Kellstadt Marketing Center Jurate Murray; and Patrick Murphy, Goodrich Endowed Chair for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Alabama and former Driehaus faculty member in entrepreneurship. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
From left to right: Michael Carbery; CEC Advisory Board member Shelley Rosen; and Leech. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
From left to right, current and former student assistants to the CEC: Desna Shah, Megumi Kumashiro, Shivani Muduli; and president of the DePaul chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization Kealey Kostos. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
From left to right: Ghanem, Mike Hora and Ba. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
From left to right: President of USASBE Julienne Shields, Hennessy, and Rokop. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
From left to right: CEC Program Manager Kathia Hernandez, Professor of Hospitality Leadership Misty Johanson and Leech. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
Doris Ewing (MBA ‘87) and Director of Development for Driehaus Oral Blankson. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
Rokop, Julienne Shields, and Hennessy. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
Gretchen Shuler, CEC student assistant and founder of ReBrewed, shares her entrepreneurial journey. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
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From left to right: Ba, Leech, and Director of DePaul’s Sports Management Program Andy Clark. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
Ba, center, gathers with a group of students. [Photo by Kathy Hillegonds, DePaul University.]
Honorees at the dinner included:
- Entrepreneurs Jamila Parham (CDM ‘08) and Chris Campbell (CMN ‘09), who received alumni achievement awards for their extraordinary and wide-ranging impact on DePaul students and the Chicago community.
- The late Errol R. Halperin (BUS ’64, JD ’67), whose generous gift establishing the Halperin Emerging Company Fund has allowed the center to give back to the Chicago community, empower women-owned businesses (both businesses awarded funds so far are women-owned) and give students an inside perspective on the venture-funding process. Halperin’s sister, Phyllis Hollander, was present to accept the award.
- Mike Hennessy, who championed entrepreneurship as the CEO of the Coleman Foundation from 1995 to 2020, and who worked closely with Professor Emeritus Harold Welsch (BUS ‘66, MBA ‘68) to establish the Coleman center with a $5 million gift from the foundation.
- Bruce Leech, whose warmth, wry humor and tireless dedication to advancing entrepreneurship has made the Coleman center a hub of connection and community for all.
We are grateful to everyone who celebrated with us — all of whom, students, community members and faculty and staff alike, have contributed to the success of the CEC.
Here’s to another 20 years of doing well by doing good!
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