2008 Woodie Awards
Business school receives $3M
Grant from alumna, husband will build new trading center by fall 2009
Vic Brotzman
Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Campus
Thanks to a multi-million dollar gift, Miami University's business students will be able to make sense of Wall Street's dollars and cents.
Richard Chaifetz and his wife, Jill Chaifetz, recently donated $3 million to Miami's Farmer School of Business to establish the Chaifetz Trading Center.
The center will be housed in the new Farmer Hall, set to open in fall 2009. The building will be on the corner of High Street and Patterson Avenue, at the site formerly occupied by Reid Hall.
Chaifetz said he and his wife had discussed making a contribution to the university for a while and with a new business building on the way, they thought the time was right to do so.
"We decided to make a contribution to the school of business in '06," he said. "We had an ongoing discussion (with the university) and it was a natural fit."
Jill Chaifetz was especially excited to support her alma mater. Though her husband was not an alumnus, she earned her degree in accounting at Miami.
"What we wanted to do was help Miami students prepare for their careers," she said. "It's always good to give back to something that had such a significant role in your life."
According to a statement released by Miami, the Chaifetz Trading Center will be a 1,800-square-foot facility with a series of dual-monitor stations that will display real-time electronic feeds from stock market data providers Bloomberg and Reuters. Students will be able to simulate transactions based on the real-time information. The room will be constructed like a "pit" and will include glass windows for outside observation.
Roger Jenkins, dean of the Farmer School, said that facilities like the Chaifetz Trading Center are typically available only to graduate students due to the cost of building and running them. He estimated that no more than 10 undergraduate programs offered a similar experience for students.
Jenkins said the new center is intended to give finance majors an edge over students at other undergraduate institutions, in that it is meant to give them the experience to compete with graduate students for MBA-level jobs.
"(For example), investment banking firms usually only accept graduate students with MBAs," he said. "This will give students the credentials to compete with grad students."
According to Jenkins, the trading center will have three major impacts on the business school, with students in the department of finance being the primary benefactors: 1) The finance program will be reworked to take advantage of the trading center; 2) Students will be able to gain experience for jobs and internships; 3) The business school will be able to further move into a more hands-on style of teaching.
However, the Chaifetzes are connected to the university and the business school by more than just Jill Chaifetz's degree. Her husband is a member of the business advisory board of the Farmer School of Business and also the founder, chairman and CEO of ComPsych Corporation. According to the press release, ComPsych is the world's largest provider of employee assistance programs.
Richard Chaifetz and his wife, Jill Chaifetz, recently donated $3 million to Miami's Farmer School of Business to establish the Chaifetz Trading Center.
The center will be housed in the new Farmer Hall, set to open in fall 2009. The building will be on the corner of High Street and Patterson Avenue, at the site formerly occupied by Reid Hall.
Chaifetz said he and his wife had discussed making a contribution to the university for a while and with a new business building on the way, they thought the time was right to do so.
"We decided to make a contribution to the school of business in '06," he said. "We had an ongoing discussion (with the university) and it was a natural fit."
Jill Chaifetz was especially excited to support her alma mater. Though her husband was not an alumnus, she earned her degree in accounting at Miami.
"What we wanted to do was help Miami students prepare for their careers," she said. "It's always good to give back to something that had such a significant role in your life."
According to a statement released by Miami, the Chaifetz Trading Center will be a 1,800-square-foot facility with a series of dual-monitor stations that will display real-time electronic feeds from stock market data providers Bloomberg and Reuters. Students will be able to simulate transactions based on the real-time information. The room will be constructed like a "pit" and will include glass windows for outside observation.
Roger Jenkins, dean of the Farmer School, said that facilities like the Chaifetz Trading Center are typically available only to graduate students due to the cost of building and running them. He estimated that no more than 10 undergraduate programs offered a similar experience for students.
Jenkins said the new center is intended to give finance majors an edge over students at other undergraduate institutions, in that it is meant to give them the experience to compete with graduate students for MBA-level jobs.
"(For example), investment banking firms usually only accept graduate students with MBAs," he said. "This will give students the credentials to compete with grad students."
According to Jenkins, the trading center will have three major impacts on the business school, with students in the department of finance being the primary benefactors: 1) The finance program will be reworked to take advantage of the trading center; 2) Students will be able to gain experience for jobs and internships; 3) The business school will be able to further move into a more hands-on style of teaching.
However, the Chaifetzes are connected to the university and the business school by more than just Jill Chaifetz's degree. Her husband is a member of the business advisory board of the Farmer School of Business and also the founder, chairman and CEO of ComPsych Corporation. According to the press release, ComPsych is the world's largest provider of employee assistance programs.
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