Keller Graduate School of Management’s history is tightly woven with that of DeVry University. Both institutions were founded by forward-thinking leaders who understood that education was evolving, and with it, the way students were learning.

Inventor Herman DeVry believed that visual learning would advance education. He came to this conclusion while working in the motion picture industry in the 1920s: his invention of the first portable projector expanded the reach of film and brought movies out of the theater and into businesses and homes. He realized the use of this technology as a practical teaching tool could have an impact on education. Years later, Dennis Keller and Ron Taylor had a similar realization, believing that business students could benefit from exposure to first-hand knowledge and practical skills they could immediately apply at work.

In 1931, DeVry identified a real need for tech-centered, career-focused education. And in 1973, Keller and Taylor saw a real need to serve working adults and the companies that employed them. Despite being decades apart, these visionary educators set the course for DeVry University and its Keller Graduate School of Management.

In the ensuing years, we’ve made it a priority to prepare students to harness the power of innovation in an increasingly technical world, and to apply their skills and ideas to business and industry. Today, DeVry and Keller faculty and students continue with our founders’ inventive spirit and focus on real-world problem-solving. With an eye on the needs of modern business, we infuse technology and its uses across our programs and our university. We maintain a pioneering perspective of education, welcoming new opportunities to explore and discover, always moving forward to the future.

Inspired by our founders’ examples, we evolve our programs, monitor trends in business and partner with employers so we can teach what is current and emerging. We encourage students to dig deeper into understanding industry-relevant roles of technology, so they can be ready for what comes next and be better equipped to find solutions that can make a difference in the world of tomorrow.