Maija Renko

Academic Degrees

• PhD, Business Administration, Florida International University, 2008
• DSc, Business Administration, Turku School of Economics, Finland, 2006
• MSc, Economics & Business Administration, Turku School of Economics, Finland, 2000

Biography

Maija Renko is a professor and the Coleman Chair of Entrepreneurship at the Driehaus College of Business, where she teaches entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship courses. Renko also serves as director of the Master of Science in Entrepreneurship Program. ​Renko joined DePaul in 2019 from the University of Illinois at Chicago, where she was the recipient of multiple research and teaching awards, including Favorite MBA Professor (voted by students).

Renko’s research focuses on the early stages of business development, factors contributing to successful business start-ups, and the role of entrepreneurship in bringing about social change. She has been published in numerous management and entrepreneurship journals and has received many Best Paper Awards, including one in 2016 for the most relevant research in social entrepreneurship. Over the years she has received many grants to support her research, including a $2.4 million grant in 2019 to study entrepreneurship as a pathway to employment for people with disabilities.

Renko is passionate about understanding how entrepreneurs build successful businesses that not only generate financial rewards for those involved, but contribute to the advancement of society and positive change, particularly for marginalized members of the community.