DePaul University’s College of Commerce and Kellstadt Graduate School of Business – home of one of the largest accredited evening MBA programs for working professionals in the country – has named a new dean. Ray Whittington, a distinguished academic, has been promoted to head the Chicago business school.

Whittington, of Winnetka, Ill., joined DePaul’s faculty nine years ago to direct its School of Accountancy & Management Information Systems. He has served as interim dean since November, replacing Arthur Kraft, who left DePaul to assume the deanship of George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University in Orange County, Calif.

“A leader with a strong sense of vision, Ray will build on his success in the School of Accountancy and expand it into the entire college,” said Helmut Epp, executive vice president for Academic Affairs.

Whittington said he looks forward to leading the college as the university embarks on fulfilling the goals set forth in its recently launched six-year strategic plan, VISION twenty12. “Our priorities for the college include expanding partnerships with the Chicago business community to provide part-time education to their employees while further establishing DePaul as a source for high-quality interns and new hires,” Whittington said. “We also plan to reach out to DePaul’s extensive alumni network with life-long learning opportunities that increase access to quality business education throughout their careers. Finally, we will continue to develop the true strength of our college—the scholarly and experienced teaching faculty and dedicated professional staff.”

Whittington brings distinguished credentials as an academic leader, researcher and industry practitioner to his role as dean. As director of one of the largest, most-respected and innovative accountancy schools in the country, he successfully implemented curricular changes that responded to new accountancy industry education requirements and strengthened the school’s relationships with prominent accounting firms that hire DePaul graduates. During his tenure the accounting school experienced a sharp increase in undergraduate enrollments. This academic year the number of undergraduate students majoring in accountancy jumped 37 percent compared to the previous year, catapulting the discipline to the third most popular undergraduate major at DePaul.

Whittington, who held the title of Ledger & Quill Director of the accountancy school, has helped build the school’s extensive and active alumni network through his work with Ledger & Quill (L&Q), the 1,500-member School of Accountancy alumni association. L&Q sponsors annual student scholarships, distinguished professor awards and other needed support for the school.

Before coming to DePaul, Whittington served from 1993-1997 as director of the School of Accountancy at San Diego State University, where he taught for 14 years and earned three outstanding professor awards. He previously was director of auditing research for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and vice chair for its Auditing Standards Board when the board was responsible for developing standards for audits of public and non-public companies. Whittington also is a former senior auditor for KPMG Peat Marwick. He has authored four textbooks and written numerous articles on accounting for magazines and journals.

Whittington earned his undergraduate business degree from Sam Houston State University, a master’s degree in accountancy from Texas Tech University and his doctorate degree from the University of Houston, where he taught accounting for one year. He is a certified public accountant, certified management accountant and certified internal auditor.

Offering highly respected, practical, flexible programs of business study near Chicago’s financial district, DePaul’s College of Commerce encompasses the university’s undergraduate business program, with 4,186 students, and the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, which enrolled 1,813 students for the 2005-2006 academic year.

The college’s 133 full- and 71 part-time faculty members represent a diverse blend of leading scholars and distinguished business professionals who bring real world experience to the classroom. DePaul alumni include Kellogg Co. CEO James Jenness; ComEd CEO Frank M. Clark; Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. CEO Patrick J. Moore; Driehaus Capital Management CEO Richard Driehaus; and Navistar International Corp. Chief Executive Daniel Ustian.

The graduate business school’s largest program is its highly regarded evening MBA, which offers more than 25 practical concentrations tailored to the needs of the 1,700 working professionals enrolled in the program. The majority of MBA students across the nation study in part-time programs such as DePaul’s evening program, which was ranked 11th among part-time MBA programs in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent annual survey of 399 business schools.

Bolstering the school’s academic programs are innovative business research and education centers, which foster links to the business community and a better understanding of relevant business issues. They include the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center; Driehaus Center for Behavioral Finance; Driehaus Center for International Business; Institute for Business & Professional Ethics; Interactive Marketing Institute; Kellstadt Center for Marketing Analysis and Planning; Management Development Center; Leo V. Ryan Center for Creativity and Innovation; the Real Estate Center; Center for Strategy, Execution and Valuation; and Center for Teaching, Learning and Assessment.

The Coleman Center is ranked in the top-13 tier of entrepreneur programs by Entrepreneur magazine and the Ryan Center has been named as one of the top-10 “most innovative centers for fledgling business owners” by Fortune Small Business magazine.

Editors’ Note: To arrange an interview or receive a photo of Ray Whittington, contact Robin Florzak, director of media relations, DePaul University, at 312/362-8592 or rflorzak@depaul.edu.