Our History | College of Business and Analytics | SIU

SIU Carbondale began offering a bookkeeping class in 1894 and gradually added additional business courses through the years until 1957. That’s when a separate School of Business and Administration was established under the leadership of the school's first dean, Henry J. Rehn. Rehn was a visionary who embraced innovation and promoted teaching excellence and curriculum reform. Under Rehn’s leadership, the school expanded its course offerings, fostered a stellar academic culture and inaugurated the graduate programs.

Today, the College of Business and Analytics includes the School of Accountancy, School of Analytics, Finance and Economics, and the School of Management and Marketing. We offer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees and we’re one of only three public institutions in Illinois to do so. U.S. News & World Report ranks us as one of the top 100 public business schools nationwide.

Our enrollment averages about 1,100 undergraduates and 250 graduate students from all over the world.

Rehn Hall, dedicated in 1983, is home to the College of Business and Analytics and it’s the place where you'll see we're continuing Rehn's vision of a school offering an extraordinary learning experience.

Our more than 20,000 alumni make significant contributions worldwide in their careers and in their communities. Many are so pleased with their SIU experience that they remain involved with the University, mentoring our students and helping the next generation of successful business graduates in a number of ways.

College Highlights

• The Burnell D. Kraft Trading Floor provides real-time simulation of commodities and financial trading using the latest technology.
• U.S. News and World Report ranks the online M.B.A. among its “Best Online Graduate Business Programs” at No. 58 in the nation.
• Business students gain hands-on experience through the Saluki Student Investment Fund, an investment management group which manages a $3.8 million portfolio funded primarily by the SIU Foundation.
• Within a year of graduation, nearly 100 percent of our master of accountancy students and 95 percent of our undergraduate accounting students find career placement.
• In an article published in Applied Economics Letters, “Leading Contributing Institutions to the Elite Finance Journals: Affiliation on Publication versus Current Institutional Affiliation,” the Finance program was ranked 66th out of 866 institutions (seventh percentile).
• Financial Management journal ranks our Finance program among the top five percent of research universities in the world for productivity.
• We are one of just three public business colleges in Illinois where you can earn bachelor’s , master’s and doctoral degrees.
• Our Business Placement Center offers resume and job search assistance, interview training, advice on personal branding, and networking opportunities. Academic mentoring from business students is accessible through the Academic Success Center. 
• Our Management program's “Green Server Project” gave students hands-on experience establishing integrated telecommunications links that simulate a supply chain network. It saved enough electricity to operate about 45 homes.