Dean’s Welcome
Established in 1984, the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business is making a name for itself — literally. Ours became the first named college at Iowa State University after the late Jerry Ivy (’53 industrial administration) and his wife, Debbie (’19 honorary alumna), made their historic gift of $50 million to the college in 2017. As you learn more about us, you will see we are a college on the move.
Our goal is to ensure our students are job-ready when they graduate.
To best serve our students for their bright futures, we continuously assess and add programs to meet the needs of our students and their future employers. Recent examples include undergraduate majors in healthcare management, human resource management, entrepreneurship, actuarial science, business analytics, and several master’s degrees. We also added a professional sales certificate that is open to all students across campus, regardless of their major. These new programs drive career opportunities for our students.
When you get to know us, you will see that we foster an environment for collaboration, entrepreneurship, innovation, global learning, and hands-on experiences. It’s part of our culture. We offer several programs to fuel the fire for students interested in these areas, including CyBIZ Lab, CYstarters, and the Startup Factory. You can read more about those programs on our Start Something page. We were the first public university in Iowa to offer an undergraduate major and only the eighth in the nation to offer a PhD in entrepreneurship. With these programs, students have a variety of experiential opportunities to choose from.
One thing that has not changed over the years is our attention to our students.
Ivy students have a lot of support from faculty and staff, including academic planning with advisors, career and internship planning with professional career coordinators, assistance with presentations and writing from a team of experts in the Writing and Speaking Center, and opportunities to join a learning community or one of many Ivy student organizations. The result of that support can be seen in our Business Career Services Annual Report where outcomes and average starting salaries are reported.
In fall 2024, we experienced record enrollment with 5,197 students. Our numbers are up in all areas. This is the largest undergraduate and the largest graduate student enrollment in our history. This is evidence that people know and trust the value of a business education at Iowa State.
With a 7.8 percent increase in enrollment, the Ivy College of Business is the fastest-growing college at Iowa State this year.
We have also grown physically. Students today are enjoying the 45,000-square-foot expansion to the Gerdin Business Building, which was opened in the fall of 2020. The four-story addition was designed with students in mind. It includes 40 percent more space, seven team rooms, the Kingland Hub common space, the Houston Professional Sales Suite, 35 faculty office spaces, and five additional classrooms. The first classes were held in the expansion starting January 2021.
I invite you to explore our website and learn more about the reasons why the Ivy College of Business is the best choice to earn a degree in business.
Raj Agnihotri
Iowa State University
Raisbeck Endowed Dean
Mary Warner Professor of Marketing
Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business