Biography
Professor Dana Connell is the Director of External Scholarships and Associate Professor in the Department of Fashion Studies in the School of Fine and Performing Arts at Columbia College Chicago.
Connell has more than 30 years in retail buying, sales, promotion, and consulting. She a Management One certified retail expert supporting independent retailers with RETAILMavens. She is also the author of A Buyer’s Life, a “how to” for entrepreneurs and students alike making sense of the numbers to plan and execute profitable retail businesses. Connell is energized by the fast pace of change and what that means in retail. Her students have won numerous National Retail Foundation and Fashion Scholarship Fund awards totaling more than $350,000. She guides her students pushing the boundaries of retail brands reimagining the future landscape through virtual reality, augmented reality, experiential retail, and collaboration.
Connell earned her MBA in Marketing at Dominican University.
Instructional Areas
All business aspects of retail and merchandising.
Creative Practice and Research Interests
Connell is currently researching AI and the implications for retailers of all sizes.
Degrees
B.A., Fashion Merchandising Dominican University 2007
M.B.A., Marketing Dominican University 2009