National Retail Federation University Membership

Illinois Institute of Technology is a member of the NRF (National Retail Federation), which is the world’s largest retail trade association. NRF provides information on the retail industry.

This is a university-wide membership that allows faculty, staff and students to take advantage of networking opportunities, eligibility for student scholarships, and special experiences to educate students on the retail industry and highlight retail’s diverse careers. NRF University membership is overseen by the NRF Foundation, NRF’s 501 (c)(3) non-profit arm.

The following benefits are available:

• University-wide membership in the National Retail Federation and Shop.org, NRF’s digital division, which includes access to members-only research and webinars.
• Networking opportunities for educators, including special events and exclusive access to our LinkedIn Group for Educators.
• One free educator pass to Retail’s BIG Show and the Shop.org Summit ($1,450 combined value); 50 percent discount off the non-member registration rate for additional educators, and discounted registration for currently-enrolled students.
• Unlimited membership in the NRF Student Association for any currently-enrolled student at Illinois Tech.
• Student eligibility for NRF’s Next Generation Scholarship which awards a $2,500 travel scholarship for Retail’s BIG Show to each nominating university, and up to a $25,000 scholarship for one top recipient.
• Ability for students to participate in the NRF Foundation’s Student Challenge, a business case-competition designed for students to display their business acumen to retail executives, that awards nearly $50,000 in scholarships to winning teams.
• Information and resources for the following retail business units: Finance / Credit; Government Relations / Legal; Human Resources; Information Technology; Loss Prevention; Marketing and Advertising; Store Operations; and Supply Chain & Merchandise Planning.

Click here to view career opportunities for all majors: https://nrf.com/career-center

In addition, the NRF offers SmartBrief which is a daily e-newsletter highlighting the top retail news of the day. Visit for a complimentary subscription.

Conferences, summits, and exclusive networking dinners with opportunities for relationship building includes:

• NRF – Annual Convention & EXPO held annually in January
• Loss Prevention Conference & EXPO
• Shop.org Annual Summit

Email Shirlean Williams, CMC Director, Employer Relations or call 312.567.6482.