BusinessWeek Selects CBA Professor as Student Favorite

Janet DiLorenzo, Ed.D.
Photo by Gina Vergel

Janet DiLorenzo, Ed.D., assistant professor of marketing at the College of Business Administration (CBA), has madeBusinessWeek magazine’s annual list of favorite undergraduate business professors.

The magazine, which published the list in its online edition on Sept. 4, described DiLorenzo as a “nurturer” and “equally tough grader who expects the very best from her students.”

“I don’t forget where I came from—there’s some empathy there,” said DiLorenzo, referring to why she tends to nurture students. “The student inside of me is something I always keep in mind.”

In all, BusinessWeek selected 21 professors from business schools throughout the country. The magazine conducts a survey of undergraduates as part of its annual ranking of undergraduate business programs. That list was released in the March 19 issue with Fordham ranking 34th nationally.

To come up with the list of top business schools and favorite professors, the magazine surveyed some 77,000 graduating seniors at 123 programs last winter, said Geoff Gloeckler, a staff editor at BusinessWeek.

DiLorenzo’s recognition wasn’t a surprise to Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., dean of CBA. “She’s a rigorous and energetic professor and is genuinely concerned for the success and well being of our students,” Rapaccioli said.

In the article about DiLorenzo, Fordham students lauded the marketing professor’s “funny” ways and “warm and approachable” personality. A former consultant and corporate analyst, DiLorenzo is known for bringing food to share with her students and props relating to topics she plans to teach.

“Well, they’re hungry and I don’t want them to fall asleep,” DiLorenzo said of the classroom treats. “But it also goes with my lesson. For example, on the first day of class I talk about how everyone does marketing, and I’ll bring in bottles of Trump Water. And when I talk about advertising, I’ll have them do a cereal taste test. Recently, I brought in a package of Keebler chocolate chip cookies for a lesson on packaging. They loved that.”