The John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business at John Carroll University has received two significant naming gifts, part of its ongoing $25 million Inspired Lives campaign.
A gift from Susan C. and William P. Donnelly (1984 and 1983 Marketing and Accountancy graduates of John Carroll) establishes the Donnelly School of Leadership and Social Innovation.
A gift from Christine M. and Richard J. Kramer (1986 Accountancy graduates of John Carroll) establishes the KramerSchool of Accountancy and Information Sciences.
“The vision for what the Boler College can achieve with new schools and programs will have a powerful impact on how we teach and prepare our students for careers in business,” said John Carroll University President Michael D. Johnson, Ph.D. “These transformative gifts highlight the incredible generosity of the Donnelly and Kramer families and reinforce how engaged our alumni community continues to be in making John Carroll University a better place.”
The Kramer School of Accountancy and Information Scienceswill strengthen John Carroll’s reputation as a leader and innovator in accounting education. With an expanded emphasis on information sciences and data analytics, Kramer School of Accountancy and Information Sciences graduates will be highly competitive in a fast changing and dynamic profession.
The Donnelly School of Leadership and Social Innovation will leverage new and established centers of excellence and faculty expertise in leadership, ethics, entrepreneurship, and social innovation. Donnelly School of Leadership and Social Innovation students will graduate as ethical leaders capable of meeting the increasingly complex demands for creating sustainable value across all industries and organizations.
“I like to say that there has never been a more exciting time to be in business — but apply that thought to senior management and you could also say that there has never been a more risk-laden or challenging time to be in business,” said Alan Miciak, Ph.D. Dean of the Boler College of Business. “The Inspired Lives campaign speaks to prospective student and business leader alike. It says that our Jesuit tradition, a nearly 500-year practice of asking “what is the right way?” has both resonance and relevance.”
The Inspired Lives campaign will launch new undergraduate programs in Wealth Management; master’s programs in Innovation and Leadership; as well as update classrooms and technology, including state-of-the-art facilities: a Capital Markets Lab and a Data Analytics Lab. Both will serve faculty and students — from across John Carroll University — as they develop analytical and computational skills and knowledge, a foundation in a data-driven society. The labs will expose students to insights and tools that they will make them job ready.
Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2016 “Best Undergraduate Business School” Employer Survey (recruiters at 600 companies) ranked the Boler College of Business #1 in the nation for preparing students for careers at their companies.
About Susan C. and William P. Donnelly
Bill Donnelly (1983, B.S.B.A, Accountancy) and Sue Donnelly (1984, B.S. in Marketing) are active, vocal and generous supporters of John Carroll University.
“We are investing in this School today because we see how the world is evolving, and we believe that this is a very unique and important curriculum that future students desperately seek and need,” they said. “This School will be the educational intersection of business and humanities, and we hope it will graduate leaders with strong moral compasses, as well as leaders who will bring innovation to many of society’s challenges.”
Bill Donnelly is the former executive vice president of METTLER TOLEDO, a global leader in the Life Science tools market. He joined METTLER TOLEDO in 1997. Previously, Mr. Donnelly held various management positions with Elsag Bailey and Price Waterhouse.
He joined the JCU Board of Directors in 2011, was elected vice chair in May 2018 and will become chairman later this year. He currently serves as the chair of the Advancement Committee. Sue has served on the John Carroll’s Chicago Alumni Chapter Board for many years. The Donnelly’s have four children, including their son, Connaught, a JCU Class of 2010 graduate, and their daughter, Grace, who is a member of JCU’s Class of 2016.
Bill and Sue also support several scholarships at John Carroll University.
About Christine M. and Richard J. Kramer
Richard and Chris Kramer have given tirelessly to John Carroll University since graduating in 1986, each with a B.S.B.A. in Accountancy.
“In 1982, we began a relationship with John Carroll University that continues today. Because of the habits, interests, and abilities we developed during our four years, our education didn’t end at graduation. Thanks to the lessons learned, the bonds developed, and the inquisitive spirit nurtured both in and outside of the classroom, we’ve become learners forever,” said Mr. Kramer. “While JCU provides its students with an outstanding education, it does more. It plants the seeds for personal growth in the lifetime beyond. In the spirit of the Jesuit traditions, when you graduate from John Carroll, you don’t leave; you are sent … ready to grow as an engaged citizen.”
Richard is chairman, chief executive officer, and president of The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, and has been a member of the JCU Board of Directors since 2011. Prior to joining Goodyear, he was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Chris Kramer, also a CPA, has served on several reunion committees and helped to establish the Akron Alumni Chapter, and the Alumni Travel Program. The couple was awarded the 2018 Alumni medal by the JCU Alumni Association, and they served as co-chairs of JCU’s most recent $100 million Forever Carroll Campaign which concluded in 2016. The Kramer’s have four children, including their son, Max, who is a graduate of the class of 2014.
Both Rich and Chris are deeply engaged in community leadership roles in Northeast Ohio. Rich has been involved in the Akron community through his leadership roles with the Akron Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Akron Community Foundation and Akron Tomorrow. He served as president of the Rubber Manufacturers’ Association and the executive committee of the National Association of Manufacturers. He is currently on the board of directors at The Sherwin-Williams Company, a trustee of The Committee for Economic Development, a member of The Business Council, and a member of the Cleveland Clinic Board of Directors. In addition to her service to John Carroll, Chris is on the board at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens and is a board member of The First Tee of Cleveland.
About the Boler College of Business
The Boler College of Business seeks to inspire next-generation business leaders, who will create game-changing assets and enduring value for Northeast Ohio and the nation. Boler ranked #1 in the nation in Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2016 “Best Undergraduate Business Schools” Employer Survey (recruiters at 600 companies) for preparing graduates for careers. Boler’s accountancy program ranks among the top ten in the nation, and #1 in Ohio for CPA exam pass rates. Boler alumni include more than 500 business owners, chief executives and presidents in Ohio alone.
History
The John Carroll University Department of Business Administration, begun in 1935, officially became the School of Business in 1957. In 1996, the University honored the generosity of John ’56 and Mary Jo Boler by renaming the school the John M. and Mary Jo Boler School of Business until a $10 million gift from the Boler Family Foundation established the College. The Boler Company, founded by John Boler, is one of the world’s largest suppliers of truck suspensions and other vital components for the transportation industry.
AACSB Accreditation
The Boler College of Business belongs to a small group of global business schools — less than 5 percent — that hold Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation at the undergraduate and graduate levels while also maintaining an independent AACSB Accountancy accreditation.
Growth and Global Reach
Growth in the Boler College of Business in the last two decades includes creation of several endowed chairs (Entrepreneurship, International Business, Business Ethics), the Edward M. Muldoon Center for Entrepreneurship, the Donnelly School of Leadership and Social Innovation and the Kramer School of Accountancy and Information Sciences.
Today, the Boler College of Business is part of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU), a national organization that links 27 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States and some 188 Jesuit institutions of higher learning throughout the world.