The Towerlight ? Finance Lab turns students into stock brokers

Towson University?s Smith Hall will soon provide a mock trading center ? the T. Rowe Price Financial Laboratory ? for students to gain experience in their respective fields.

T. Rowe Price, a global investment management firm, contacted the College of Business and Economics about their interest in creating a finance lab at the University. The organization?s Program for Charitable Giving gave Towson a $250,000 grant to help make the lab?s creation possible, according to Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of T. Rowe Price Kenneth Moreland.

?There are several reasons we selected Towson as the grant recipient,? President of T. Rowe Price Ann Boyce said. ?One of our trustees in the foundation was very impressed that Towson had the largest business school, by number of students, in the state. We also have a number of T. Rowe Price workers who graduated from Towson, so TU is a good potential source for hiring people.?

Joanne Li, chairperson and professor in the finance department for the College of Business and Economics, said that the lab will present a hands-on experience that will take the business track beyond textbook and Microsoft Excel data analysis.

?The dean of the College of Business and Economics is very supportive of the idea,? Li said. ?I hope students will have a chance to showcase their abilities to business companies and increase their abilities.?

Some students share Li?s sentiments and are looking forward to the lab?s creation.

?I thought it was pretty cool, especially being an economics major,? senior Mike Horney said. ?I could benefit from that and learn how the financial market works. It sucks that I?m a senior and that I might not be able to experience it the other way people do, but I think it?s a good idea.?

Officials are planning for construction to begin by the beginning of the 2012 spring semester and hope for the lab to be complete by the 2012 fall semester, according to Li.

Boyce said that the lab will offer an in-depth understanding about financial markets for students who will one day go into some aspect of the financial industry. Moreland, a Towson alumnus, said the lab will provide large television screens, a ticker board and new opportunities for students to sell themselves to future employers.

?There will be live data feeds from various markets into the finance lab so that students will be able to make mock portfolios and make trades with live data within various financial data around the world,? Moreland said. ?They?ll be able to simulate what professionals do and how it affects their mock portfolios. In addition, students who aren?t necessarily finance students will have exposure to the lab. They will be able to view what goes on in the lab and may have a class in there. It will be a highly interactive lab with lots of technology for all students.?

Sophomore business major Kelsey Vaughan said having a lab could benefit students by letting them determine if this is the track they truly want to follow.

?Since I am a sophomore finance major, I don?t know much about my classes yet because I haven?t taken my upper level courses,? Vaughan said. ?If they do have a financial lab for finance majors, it would help me decide if it?s a field I want to go into.?

Some students think the lab should be made mandatory for the curriculum.

?It?ll help people understand what they?re learning better and actually apply it,? sophomore business minor Emily Macari said. ?If you mess up, it?s fine, and you learn before you go into the real world. If they required students to participate, it would help students put more time and energy into the field. And that would probably help them out in the long run. It sounds good to me.?

Laura Braddick, communications specialist for the College of Business and Economics, said a portion of the funds came from TU?s student marketing team?s donation from the cash prize they won by placing second in a local tournament.

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Source: http://www.thetowerlight.com/2011/11/finance-lab-turns-students-into-stock-brokers/

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