A Gabelli Professor Finds Balance Between Analysis and Abstraction

In the classroom, Jie Ren, Ph.D., associate professor and director of the M.S. in Business Analytics program at the Gabelli School of Business, is known for her structured, analytical approach in a field that relies on the use of data for strategic business solutions and communication. Beyond academia, however, she is an accomplished painter, and her talents across disciplines complement each other and provides a balance that has shaped her approach to teaching and leadership.

Ren began painting as a child, studying color, light, and perspective through formal lessons as she strived to master the technique and precision to create detailed, figurative art. After setting aside painting as she pursued her academic career, a casual sketch during the COVID-19 pandemic reignited her passion and rekindled her creative practice, inspiring her work inside and outside the classroom. Her paintings, once grounded in realism, now explore impressionism, abstraction, and sequential art, reflecting what she describes as “the multidimensional nature of human experience.”

She took a course in Florence that encouraged her to embrace “controlled freedom,” and fostered her belief that creativity thrives between structure and spontaneity. The experience also helped her to thread this philosophy into her academic work. Despite a demanding schedule, Ren makes time for painting each week, finding that it clears her mind and often sparks new research ideas. She encourages her students to seek the same balance. “I tell my students to immerse themselves in the city, to visit museums and talk to people,” Ren noted. “There are so many ways to connect with the city, and it will inspire their work,” she asserted, reinforcing her message that true innovation comes from balancing structure with freedom.