Ranjit Souri C.V. RANJIT SOURI, MBA Chicago, IL 60614 | Cell 312.287.6390 [email protected] PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY: ● Award-winning instructor at the college level. ● Professional Development teacher: academic success, campus resources, career exploration, communication, job search processes, leadership, presentation skills, public speaking, and teamwork. ● Writing teacher: composition, cover letters, personal essays, research papers, and résumés. ● MBA from Columbia University. B.S. in Accounting from Case Western Reserve University. ● Public speaking experience in front of audiences up to 5,000+. ● Extensive record of service to the University of Illinois at Chicago. ● Performed as comedian throughout the USA over a 20-year period. ● 16 years experience as instructor of comedy writing, improvisational comedy, and stand-up comedy. ● Ability to master diverse subject areas including grammar, literature, logic, math, music, science, writing. ● Experienced free-lance magazine writer; was listed in the anthology The Best American Essays 2007. 1 Ranjit Souri C.V. CURRENT POSITION: FULL-TIME LECTURER at the College of Business Administration at the UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO (UIC), 2014-present: I teach Business Communications, with my courses falling into two categories: ● Improv for Business: applying improvisational and communication skills to various oral communication situations including: ○ impromptu speaking, ○ job search strategies and processes, ○ leadership, ○ presentation skills, ○ public speaking, and ○ working effectively on a team. ● Business Writing: teaching students to write effectively in various forms including: ○ business letters, ○ cover letters, ○ essays, ○ memoranda, ○ research papers, and ○ resumes. Courses taught at UIC include: ● BA 520 Improvisation & Leadership (graduate level course) (note: BA = “Business Administration”) ● BA 420 Professional Presence (note: BA = “Business Administration”) ● BA 220 Professional Development II ● BA 200 Managerial Communications (a business writing course) ● BA 100 Introduction to UIC and Professional Development 2 Ranjit Souri C.V. Honors at UIC: ● Recipient of Dean’s Letter of Recognition for Outstanding Teaching, 2017, 2019 ● Named UIC Teaching Scholar, 2017 ● Named UIC Teaching Scholar, 2016 ACADEMIC CREDENTIALS: ● MBA, 1996, Columbia University (New York, NY), Concentrations in Accounting and Nonprofit Management. ○ Winner, Joann Martin Award for Excellence in Public and Not-for-profit Management ○ Winner, Beta Gamma Sigma Scholarship ○ Teaching Assistant, Accounting ○ Teaching Assistant, Mathematics ○ Member, Public and Nonprofit Management Association ○ Member, Students for Responsible Business ● B.S., Accounting, 1992, Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH) ○ Member of the Year, Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity ○ Directed Sigma Alpha Mu community service program awarded as best of all fraternities on campus as well as best of over 80 national chapters of SAM ○ Member, Case Men’s Glee Club and University Singers ○ Member, Indian Student Association ADDITIONAL GRADUATE WORK: ● Doctoral Coursework in Accounting, 1996-1997, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ○ Successfully completed first year of full-time doctoral coursework 3 Ranjit Souri C.V. ○ Also served as Research Assistant ○ (Left at end of first year to pursue comedy career) TESTS COMPLETED: ● CPA Exam: passed, Dayton, OH, 1993 ● GMAT: 750 (99th percentile) out of 800, Quant 98th, Verbal 99th, Atlanta, GA, 1993 ● GRE: 336 out of 340, Quant 168 (94th), Verbal 168 (98th), Chicago, IL, 2017 4 Ranjit Souri C.V. SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO (UIC) (Note: All of these are presentations and workshops I have done outside of my required teaching responsibilities; this is a representative listing.) ● UIC Business School Commencement Floor Marshal, December 14th, 2019. ● UIC Business School Commencement Marshal (Emcee), May 13th, 2019. Emceed commencement ceremony at UIC Pavilion with audience of 5,000+ ● UIC Business School Commencement Banner Carrier, December 15th, 2018. ● UIC Business School Commencement Marshal (Emcee), May 12th, 2018. Emceed commencement ceremony at UIC Pavilion with audience of 5,000+ ● “Dental Leadership”, UIC Dental School, 7-week seminar for Pediatric Dental Residents, Spring Semesters 2018 and 2019. ● “Improv for Networking,” UIC Liautaud Graduate School of Business, Incoming Students Onboarding, January 11th, 2018. ● “Improv Communication Skills,” UIC Business Scholarship Workshop for Students and their Parents, December 9th, 2017. ● “Improv Skills for Nursing Faculty and Staff,” UIC College of Nursing Retreat, August 23rd, 2017. ● “Team-building Workshop,” UIC Business Leadership Retreat, August 21st, 2017. ● “Professional Development Workshop in Communication,” Alpha Kappa Psi professional co-ed business fraternity meeting, March 16th, 2017. ● “Matt Alex: Principal at Deloitte,” I conducted an on-stage interview with Mr. Alex for an audience of 100+ Business Scholar students and faculty, March 15th, 2017. ● “Improv and Communication Skills,” UIC Transfer Student Onboarding, January 14th, 2017. ● ”Improv for International Students and Professionals,” UIC Tutorium in Intensive English, July 7th, 2016. ● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Palooza, April 16th, 2016. 5 Ranjit Souri C.V. ● “Improv for Presentation Skills,” Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Start-up Challenge, April 15th, 2016. ● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” College of Business Administration Admitted Student Reception, April 13th, 2016. ● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Graduate College, March 17th, 2016. ● “Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Student-Athlete Mentorship Program, February 17th, 2016. ● “Giving and Receiving Feedback,” Institute for Leadership Excellence and Development, February 3rd, 2016. ● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” Transfer Student Onboarding, January 8th, 2016. ● “Personal Storytelling for Business,” Institute for Leadership Excellence and Development, October 21st, 2015. ● “Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Liautaud Graduate Business School Orientation, August 14th, 2015. ● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” UIC Business School Summer College Prep, July 7th, 2015. ● “Personal Storytelling in Business,” Alpha Kappa Psi (Professional Co-ed Business Fraternity), April 30th, 2015 ● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” College of Business Administration Admitted Student Reception, April 16th, 2015. ● “Personal Storytelling for Business,” Business Career Center Leadership Lab, April 9th, 2015. ● ”Improv for Professional Networking,” Leadership Lab, February 5th, 2015. ● “Medprov: Improvisational Skills for Doctors,” UIC Medical Center, January 28th, 2015; December 24th, 2014; and October 1st, 2014. ● ”Improv and Nonverbal Communication,” Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Co-ed Business Fraternity, January 22nd, 2015. ● ”Impromptu Speaking,” Graduate Marketing Association, November 14th, 2014. ● ”Improv for Tutors,” Business Learning Center, November 7th, 2014. 6 Ranjit Souri C.V. TEST PREP TEACHING AND TUTORING EXPERIENCE: ● Aardvark Prep (Chicago, IL): Education Consultant (2008-2016): I tutored students from high-school age through adults, for the ACT, GMAT, GRE, ISAT, ISEE, LSAT, PSAT, and SAT. I taught all sections of all of these exams including English/Grammar, Logic Games, Math, Reading Comprehension, Science, and Writing. ● Kaplan Test Prep (Chicago, IL): Teacher (1996-1999 and 2003-2005): I taught GMAT courses, and I was part of a small percentage of Kaplan teachers who contributed to the writing of Kaplan’s national curriculum. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND IN COMEDY: ● The Second City Training Center (Chicago, IL): Courses completed: ○ Stand-up Comedy 101 and 201 (2010-2011) ○ Conservatory (Advanced Improvisation) Levels 1-5 (2005-2006) ○ Sketch Comedy Writing Levels 1-5 (2001-2002) ○ Beginning Improvisation Levels A-E (1998-1999) TEACHING EXPERIENCE IN COMEDY EDUCATION: Courses taught at The Second City Training Center (Chicago, IL), 2003-present: ● Comedy Writing 1, 2, 3, and 4 (each level is an 8-week course for adults) ● Humor Doesn’t Retire: A series of 8-week Improvisation classes for Senior Citizens ● ImaginAction (4-5): theater games for students ages 4 and 5 ● ImaginAction (6-8): theater games for students ages 6 to 8 ● Improv for Anxiety: A series of 8-week Improvisation classes for adults dealing with anxiety issues ● Improv-X (9-10): theater games for students ages 9 and 10 7 Ranjit Souri C.V. ● Improv-X (11-12): theater games for students ages 11 and 12 ● Improvisation Levels A, B, C, D, E (each level is an 8-week course for adults) ● Stand Up to Anxiety (8-week course for adults who want to use the study of stand-up to deal with anxiety issues) ● Stand-up Comedy 101 (8-week course for adults) ● Teen Improv (13-14) ● Teen Improv (15-18) ● Teen Improv for Anxiety (15-18) (7-week course for teens dealing with anxiety issues; I co-teach this course with a Licensed Social Worker) ● Teen Improv Boot Camp: a 10-weekday intensive ● Teen Stand-up Comedy Boot Camp (10-day intensive) ● Various additional intensives, workshops, etc. ADDITIONAL TEACHING EXPERIENCE: ● The University of Chicago Booth School of Business Public Speaking & Communications Group (Chicago, Illinois) (2019-present): Instructor of 7-week extracurricular workshops in Stand-up Comedy and Storytelling. ● The Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois) (Summers 2015, 2007): Faculty member.