John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation

COBI WALLCOBI Front biewThe Neff College of Business and Innovation outdoor sign with Stranahan Hall and the Savage and Associates Business Complex.

The John B. and Lillian E. Neff College of Business and Innovation was established in 1930 and is currently the second-largest professional college on the campus of The University of Toledo. It is also one of only 5 percent of business colleges around the world to receive accreditation from The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). The college is also one of roughly 2 percent of institutions to hold an additional, specialized AACSB Accreditation for its accounting program.

We house our own Business Career Programs Office which is dedicated to placing students in both internships and permanent, full-time career positions. The Neff College of Business and Innovation occupies The Savage & Associates Complex for Business Learning and Engagement. This 54,000 square-foot facility is a state-of-the-art complex and houses classrooms, five action learning labs and, in addition, serves as a hub for our community outreach and engagement activities. The Alan Barry Accounting Lab is distinctive in the nation for having licenses for both CPA and CMA review materials available free for students; it also has tutors and software to help students improve their accounting and writing skills. The Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales (ESSPS) is one of the top university sales programs in the world, with a world-class curriculum, a high-tech sales lab, professional certifications, and multiple corporate, university and international partnerships and was independently recognized as being in the top 5 percent of all professional sales programs in a study by DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership.

Our very qualified faculty and staff are here to provide the very best well-rounded college experience for our students, both in and out of the classroom. The faculty bring relevance to the classroom and continuously advance the state-of-the-art knowledge about various topics/issues by translating their cutting-edge research contributions into classroom applications.

Points of Pride
  • We are the second-largest college within The University of Toledo
  • Member of Graduate Management Admission Council
  • U.S. News & World Report has the College ranked as one of the best undergraduate business programs in the nation
  • Eduniversal, an international higher education ranking agency, rates COBI Excellent and includes it as the only Northwest Ohio business school in its list of 180 schools in North America in its fifth edition of the Best 1000 Business Schools in 154 Countries, 2012. Furthermore, Eduniversal ranks COBI’s Human Resources Management program #37 in North America and one of the top 200 HR masters programs worldwide
  • Committed to Building Lifelong Leaders for the World of Business with skilled, experienced and compassionate faculty
  • Experiences an outstanding relationship with the regional business community, through which approximately 85% of UToledo COBI students participate in internships
  • John B. and Lillian E. Neff  Trading Room offers students live and delayed feeds from all of the world's stock exchanges
  • Students have an opportunity to manage a $3.5 million investment fund for the UToledo Foundation
  • Home of a top sales program, the Edward H. Schmidt School of Professional Sales
Mission Statement

The Neff College of Business and Innovation provides innovative and relevant learning experiences and engages in high quality research and teaching to prepare students to become life-long, ethical business and academic leaders who are prepared for global challenges.

We accomplish this by:

  • Preparing our students to create innovative solutions to relevant business problems
  • Helping our students to understand and make ethical choices
  • Connecting our students with organizations to help begin and advance their careers
  • Engaging in a faculty-driven process to identify and support publishing in high-impact research outlets
  • Mentoring faculty, collaboration with colleagues inside and outside of COBI, and providing a formal peer feedback process to improve teaching and research
  • Engaging and involving the regional and international business community in opportunities for student experiential learning, career exploration and development, consulting, and research projects
  • Engaging business and alumni advisory boards and focus groups to develop and improve curricula and programs 
Vision Statement

"Global Scope and Regional Impact - Making a Difference"

To become a global leader among public metropolitan business schools by:

  • Integrating disciplinary excellence, principled leadership and technological acumen
  • Effectively blending theory and practice, and
  • Being highly regarded as a learning partner of first choice for students and the business community worldwide
Core Values
  • Diversity
  • Excellence
  • Student-Centeredness
  • Research and Scholarship
  • Professionalism and Leadership

 

Last Updated: 10/5/22