Starr Marcello
Deputy Dean for MBA Programs
Biography
As the Deputy Dean for MBA Programs, Starr oversees the full-time, evening, weekend, and executive MBA Programs at Chicago Booth. In addition, she oversees Booth’s new masters programs, the Master in Management and the Master in Finance.
As Deputy Dean, she touches all aspects of the student experience, including managing the teams in Admissions, Student Life, Career Services, Leadership Development, and Corporate Relations, and supports two of Booth’s most student-focused centers, the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation.
Prior to her appointment to the dean’s office, Starr served as the Executive Director of the Polsky Center. In her 15 years with the Center, Starr invested in the successful significant expansion of the entrepreneurial ecosystem at the university. She extended the Center’s work to students throughout the University of Chicago campus, from philosophy majors to chemistry majors, as well as to those studying at the school’s global campuses in Hong Kong and London. Through her work, the Polsky Center has also become a lynchpin in the City of Chicago’s dynamic startup community.
Starr has helped hundreds of students, faculty, staff, and community members launch the next generation of high-impact ventures, including the founding teams of Grubhub (NYSE: GRUB), Braintree Venmo (acquired by Ebay’s PayPal for $800M), Simple Mills, and Tovala. These ventures and more got their start in the university’s Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge (NVC), which invests more than $1M annually in student ventures, and has been recognized as a top startup accelerator program in the U.S. by the Seed Accelerator Rankings Project. Starr created and teaches the new ventures course that accompanies the undergraduate track of the NVC.
Starr serves on the board of 1871, the City of Chicago’s center for technology and entrepreneurship, which was recognized in 2019 as the #1 private incubator in the world. Starr is also the board chair for UChicago Impact, empowering K-12 educators to measure and improve student outcomes. She is passionate about advancing diversity in entrepreneurship, and is a frequent speaker on this topic. In 2017, Starr testified before the U.S. Congress on the power of startup accelerators to generate economic empowerment and inclusive innovation.
Starr holds a BA from Wesleyan University and an MA and MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Get Insights from Starr Marcello in Chicago Booth Review
Is the Startup World Really Like ‘Super Pumped’?
New York Times reporter Mike Isaac and Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan and Starr Marcello discuss startup culture.
{PubDate}
Is There a Culture Problem among Startups?
Chicago Booth’s Steve Kaplan and Starr Marcello are joined by New York Times reporter Mike Isaac to discuss the role of corporate governance in entrepreneurship.
{PubDate}