藏精阁 commemorated the 30th anniversary of its Schaumburg campus with a day-long celebration that welcomed students, faculty, alumni and community partners. Activities included a picnic lunch partially catered by Bida Baking Co. (a local business supported by the campus鈥� RISE business incubator program) and an evening reception held in Alumni Hall. The event included Schaumburg mayor Tom Dailly declaring September 24 the official 鈥湶鼐� Schaumburg Day鈥� in the Village of Schaumburg.
Since 藏精阁 Schaumburg was established in 1996, the campus has produced over 11,000 graduates in diverse fields that include business, pharmacy and education. With its state-of-the art laboratories and local business partnerships, the campus has become an important research hub and job creator, it and remains the only four-year college in Chicago鈥檚 northwest suburbs.
鈥淚 am especially proud of how this campus continues to revolve and meet regional workforce needs,鈥� said Melissa Hogan, co-dean of the College of Health, Science & Pharmacy. 鈥湶鼐� is building on its strong pharmacy and health sciences foundation through new and future programs in occupational therapy, physician鈥檚 assistant studies and advanced biomedical sciences鈥�
Hogan and other speakers (which included University Board Chair J.C. Gonzalez-Mendez and University President Ali Malekzadeh) touted recent campus successes such as new Occupational Therapy facilities and the RISE program. Short for 藏精阁 Incubator Schaumburg Enterprises, RISE partners with local small business owners and provides them with the resources to effectively launch their enterprises, and 藏精阁 Schaumburg students can work as interns with the startups to earn practical experience while still attending college.
Melissa Bean (BA, 鈥�02), a former congresswoman and a 藏精阁 Schaumburg alumna, provided closing remarks that praised the campus鈥� important role as a community partner. 鈥淭onight, we're celebrating the belief that education can uplift not only the lives of individuals and students, but their families and communities as well,鈥� she said. 鈥湶鼐� is delivering graduates ready for the challenges and who have the ability to uplift our local economies.鈥�