Professor Dana Connell, MBA, is the Director of External Scholarship Initiatives and Associate Professor of the Department of Fashion Studies at Columbia College Chicago.

Connell has more than 25 years in retail buying, sales, promotion, and consulting. She is 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. While some fret over the current state of retail, 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 $200,000. She guides her students pushing the boundaries of retail brands reimagining the future landscape through virtual reality, augmented reality, experiential retail, and collaboration.