As 2025 comes to a close, it’s a good chance to reflect on the exciting work and accomplishments that our Lerner College students, faculty, staff and alumni were able to achieve during the year. From student success to faculty accolades to transformative gifts, here are our top Lerner moments of 2025:
Lerner, Charles Schwab Foundation Partner to Open New Financial Planning Center
Lerner partnered with the Charles Schwab Foundation to establish a new, state-of-the-art Financial Planning Center located in the FinTech Innovation Hub. The commitment was announced in January, while a ribbon-cutting ceremony in November officially christened the center.
The center creates opportunities for UD students and employees to receive free financial coaching from senior finance and financial planning and wealth management double majors Natalie Radebaugh and Giacomo D’Alessandro, along with CFP Caleb Ray.
Lerner Programs Continue to Be Ranked Among Nation’s Best
The Lerner Online MBA Program moved up nine spots to 20th in the nation in the 2025 U.S. News and World Report Best Online Programs rankings, its highest ever ranking by the publication. Lerner placed No. 52 in the Poets&Quants for Undergrads rankings of top undergraduate business schools, jumping 13 spots from 2024.
Lerner was also included among the 2025 10 Undergraduate Business Schools to Watch by Poets&Quants.
In the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings for Best Online MBA Programs, Lerner earned its highest-ever national placement – No. 20 in the country – and retained its position as the top-ranked online MBA in the greater Philadelphia region. More notably, for the third consecutive year, Lerner’s faculty received a perfect score in teaching credentials and training.
Horn Entrepreneurship Climbs in Princeton Review Rankings
In the 2026 Princeton Review and Entrepreneur Magazine rankings, UD’s undergraduate entrepreneurship program rose two spots into the Top 25 nationally and remained third in the Mid-Atlantic region. Horn’s Summer Founders Program celebrated 10 years of innovation in 2025, which includes 104 startups receiving $11.8 million in funding, with 63 percent still in business.
Lerner College Receives Grant from Delaware Workforce Development Board, Launches Co-op Program
Lerner secured a grant with the Delaware Workforce Development Board to give the College’s students a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience while continuing their academic learning. The program is an exclusive one-year, paid internship/co-op opportunity designed for rising juniors and seniors enrolled in UD’s Lerner College to gain meaningful work experience, develop their professional network, and apply classroom knowledge to real-world challenges. All while earning credits toward their degree and receiving monetary compensation from their employers.
The program launched in June, while a celebratory luncheon was held in August at CSC Station in Wilmington. It was featured in numerous publications during the year, including Poets&Quants for Undergrads and the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce. Read about the experiences of Lerner students participating in the program here.
Sport Management Students Tour Iconic London, Paris Stadiums During Winter Session Trip
Sport management students spent three weeks in London and Paris during a winter session study abroad sport business program trip with Instructor of Sports Management John Allgood. During the first half of the trip, the group toured the London Olympic Stadium, Lord’s Cricket Arena, Craven Cottage (home of Fulham FC), Wembley Stadium, Wimbledon, and Stamford Bridge (home of Chelsea FC), while also attending presentations at some of the venues. In Paris they visited UNESCO headquarters, Paris 2024 Olympic Stadium, and Roland-Garros Stadium, in addition to attending various lectures. The students also had time for sightseeing in both cities.
Lerner Receives Transformative $71.5 Million Gift from Rob and Kathy Siegfried
The University of Delaware has received the largest philanthropic contribution from an individual or family in the University’s 282-year history.
The $71.5 million commitment from UD alums Robert L. Siegfried, Jr. and Kathleen Marie (Horgan) Siegfried, along with The Siegfried Group, LLP, is the largest philanthropic contribution from an individual or family in the University’s history. The donation positions the Lerner College among an elite group of U.S. business schools that have received this level of philanthropic investment in student success.
Lerner Announces Strategic Plan for Transformative Excellence
Lerner Dean Oliver Yao announced the college’s strategic plan, Transformative Excellence, to guide its efforts through 2030. This framework aims to enhance business and economics education, advance research and increase Lerner’s societal impact.
Developed with input from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and industry partners, the plan reflects Lerner’s mission to provide impactful scholarship and experiential learning that prepare students to be innovative, globally minded leaders. It also emphasizes adapting to emerging technologies and shaping the future of business education.
Delaware Gov. Meyer, Lt. Gov. Gay Sign Women’s History Month Proclamation at UD
In March, before a striking backdrop of 171 portraits of extraordinary women who have made a lasting impact on the state, Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer and Lt. Gov. Kyle Evans Gay officially proclaimed Women’s History Month.
The signing, held at the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Portrait Gallery in the Lerner Atrium, marked the launch of the Delaware Women’s Hall of Fame Lessons in Leadership speaker series, featuring a fireside chat with 2019 Hall of Fame inductee Drew Fennell. UD community members and state and local leaders attended the event.
Malek Elsayyid Becomes First Lerner Student to Complete AI Grad Certificate
Malek Elsayyid, a graduate student working toward her MBA and Ph.D. in biology, became the first UD student to complete the Generative AI for Business graduate certificate.
Elsayyid was working on a research paper on worms for her doctoral program, characterizing a type of protein and how it impacts intracellular signaling. She was able to immediately put her AI knowledge to use by using the tool to analyze images much faster.
Lerner Celebrates Class of 2025
The Lerner College Class of 2025 showcased its achievements, experiences and memories as Blue Hens, and shared their post-graduation plans, in our Lifelong Lerner series. Lerner College celebrated more than 1,400 graduates from the Class of 2025 including undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students during its Commencement ceremonies in May. Earlier in the month Lerner acknowledged its outstanding students and their academic successes during the 2025 Honors and Achievements Day ceremony.
Three SWUFE-UD Students Become First to Graduate from Newark
The more than 1,400 Lerner graduates of the Class of 2025 each travelled a long road to reach graduation. But three travelled more than most. China natives Yihong Chen, Tingyu Zhang and Ruolan Zhi became the first students of the Southwestern University of Finance and Economics–University of Delaware (SWUFE-UD) joint education institute of Data Science to graduate from UD’s Newark campus.
Lerner Students Complete Impactful Summer Internships
Piper Goldstein and Eve Chapman joined eight other UD students in taking their next step in pursuing careers in the fashion industry by completing a competitive eight-week internship with Ross Stores and DD’s Discounts, a subsidiary of Ross, in the New York Buying Office.
Married UD MBA students Nabila Briste and Tahseef Reza secured competitive internships at Sallie Mae and JPMorgan Chase, while Antonia Vázquez completed an undergraduate research project exploring the self-efficacy and sense of belonging of female business students.
Additionally, 17 other Lerner students who completed summer internships were profiled in the My Summer Internship series.
Lerner Professors Receive Honors
Professor of MIS John D’Arcy was reappointed to a second term as Senior Editor at MIS Quarterly. He joins MIS Professor Xiao Fang, who is also a Senior Editor with the publication.
Assistant Professor of Marketing Andong Cheng was named a Faculty Fellow at the Delaware Environmental Institute (DENIN) for the 2025-27 term. Cheng is the first Lerner faculty member to receive the honor.
Chaplin Tyler Professor of Finance Fei Xie has been appointed the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance’s inaugural faculty research director.
CEEE Director Carlos Asarta was the recipient of the James O’Neill Economic Education Multiplier Award, a national honor that recognizes educators who expand access to economics by developing and inspiring teachers to do the same.
Dana J. Johnson Professor of Management Wendy Smith was named to the 2025 Thinkers50 Ranking of Top 50 Management Thinkers. She was also included on Clarivate’s Web of Science 2025 Highly Cited Researchers list for the seventh consecutive year.
Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Julia Bayuk was named to the Poets&Quants 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors list.
Weinberg Center Celebrates 25th Anniversary
In October, UD’s John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance marked its 25th anniversary with a symposium, luncheon and gala celebrating its legacy as a leading national forum for nonpartisan governance dialogue, research and Delaware’s corporate law leadership.
Accounting Students Earn National Recognition from PCAOB
For the second consecutive year, three Lerner accounting majors earned national recognition from the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Each received a $15,000 merit-based scholarship as part of the 2025-26 class of PCAOB Scholars – the largest in the program’s history. Seniors Redwanul Bari, Dean Horner and Matthew Musacchio were among 685 students nationwide selected for this prestigious award, which recognizes academic excellence, leadership, and a strong commitment to the accounting profession.