Speak Up
What’s in a name? Questrom means business.
Your alma mater received the largest gift in Boston University history. This calls for a celebration!
When Allen Questrom graduated from Boston University College of Business Administration in 1964, he began a journey that would eventually rewrite the rules of retailing. A BU marketing professor, Allen Beckwith, pushed Questrom to take an interview in retail and he landed a job at Abraham & Straus. Questrom quickly climbed the ladder at Federated Department Stores, Inc., and ultimately created value for customers, employees, and shareholders at companies such as Neiman Marcus, Barneys New York, and—his most famous turnaround—JCPenney.
BU gave Questrom his start. Now he’s given his School his name: the Questrom School of Business. In appreciation of the education he received here—one that sparked his transformation of the retail world—Questrom and his wife, Kelli, are empowering the next generation of business leaders with their gift of $50 million to the School.
Think back to your time here. What did you love? What would you have changed? The Questroms’ gift will have broad impact—on today’s and tomorrow’s students, on the professors who inspire inside and outside the classroom, and on the facilities where learning takes place.
That’s what we are all about: continuous improvement. From the many individual and group conversations I have with students, alumni, faculty, and staff, to major global initiatives like the Business Education Jam, we are listening and learning and boldly defining our future.
This is a special moment in the 101-year history of the School. It’s a time of celebration. We are moving forward as a community with confidence and optimism. When you dare to think big, big things happen.
Like Allen Questrom, you are an alum of a school that has always broken new ground and, with this transformational donation, has the opportunity to raise the bar yet again.
Around the world, you embody that drive. You represent the Questrom School of Business (or, Questrom) as we join the ranks of the world’s great business schools—virtually all of which have taken the name of a highly successful, distinguished alum.
Although our name has changed, our mission has not. We aim to prepare the next generation of leaders who create value for the world. We educate graduates who shape the landscape of business, as Allen Questrom has done throughout his career. We conduct important research and provide exceptional teaching.
Daring convention. Thinking dynamically. Leading with heart. Considering the world. We are Boston University Questrom School of Business—and Questrom means business.
