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The Finance
Department: “Open Door” Policy Opens Career Doors for Students “We are the only school in the
country that places students with a specialist on a Wall Street trading
floor,” declared Dr. Mary Cutler, professor and chair of the finance
department, describing the Wall Street Field Study, which she says is
“like a study abroad course,” except it’s in New York City. A dozen
students spend a week seeing how business works in one of the world’s
largest financial districts—and the high point is a visit with an
Exchange specialist. A Champion of the Finance Department “I remember CCSU students dropping by my office after hours when most of the pandemonium had died down and wanting to know how they could someday land a career on Wall Street,” said Jim McNeil, a 1994 CCSU alumnus with degrees in finance and economics. As the students and he strolled Prudential’s Wall Street Trading Floor surrounded by a maze of turret computer screens and bands of phones, McNeil emphasized the “value” of his Central education and the importance of earning an advanced degree for those setting their sights on Wall Street. “I told them, ‘Extract all you can from your courses, and, if you are motivated, you can get a phenomenal education at Central, comparable to one at a big name college.’” Now at Hamilton Investment Management, McNeil manages hedge funds for institutions and individuals of high net worth. He exclaimed, “I’m a big champion of the Finance Department, because the ‘open door’ policy of its faculty provided me with a great advantage. I was able to go to a professor and confer for an hour or longer if needed. At some major institutions one might get to talk to a graduate assistant, but not receive quality time with the professor.” McNeil is only one of many Finance Department success stories. Dr. Cutler cited a recent survey of graduates showing that: two-thirds of respondents found their first positions in finance; two-thirds are currently working in the field; and two-thirds have already received, or are currently pursuing, advanced degrees. If a prospering and supportive
alumni base falls on the plus side of the Finance Department’s ledger,
so does its new headquarters, the Robert A. Vance Academic Center, which
houses the School of Business in style, with spacious classrooms and
computer labs. Here finance majors—almost 200 strong—take on the rigor
of a major requiring the integration of economics, mathematics, and
statistics. As future financial professionals—whether in corporations,
financial institutions, or governmental organizations—they are prepared
to evaluate all business and financial risks and returns in business
decisions. To become future financial managers who will direct funds
acquisition, funds management, and investments, students must learn
economic theory and the techniques of accounting and statistics. “We
teach theory and application, computer and analytical skills,” states
Cutler. A Faculty Ambitious with Exciting Ideas to Pursue “The department’s chief strength is the faculty, with its excellence in teaching, active scholarship, and practical experience. We are a small but vigorous group committed to a quality program that prepares students for careers and advanced study in finance,” said Cutler. The faculty, all Ph.D.-trained scholars with extensive backgrounds in financial management of both domestic and international business, enrich the academic material with their own professional history. Cutler, before joining the Central faculty in 1987, was the financial director of the international division of a Fortune 100 multinational corporation and was responsible for financial management in 29 foreign subsidiaries and for investment decisions around the globe. Dr. Kathy Czyrnik, who segued from being a Yale chemistry graduate, to receiving an MBA from Columbia University, then a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Connecticut, brings a wealth of private sector knowledge, having been assistant treasurer at the Bank of New York and an investment director at Aetna. “We are a faculty ambitious with exciting ideas to pursue,” she observed. “We all share the same core value of educating students well. We strongly encourage finance students to do an internship or a Cooperative Education experience, because finance is a hands-on subject.” Cutler adds, “In generating these job opportunities for themselves, students learn to be self-starters and to learn how to negotiate in the professional world.” Jennifer Wilbert, a senior finance major, pronounced the finance program “sound.” She said, “The faculty relate to what’s happening in the world. Dr. Eric Terry, for example, has taught at the Wharton School of Business and ran his own consulting business before teaching at Central. The highest compliment I can pay to my professors is that they all wanted me to succeed. They were there for me.” Students enjoy other supportive resources as well. A tutoring program, taught by paid upperclassmen, helps to buttress students undertaking difficult studies, which often require highly analytical and formidable mathematical skills. An active Finance Club, which brings prominent guest speakers to campus, “helps us to understand what it takes to be competitive in business today and serves as a meeting place to form friendships with fellow students who share the same interests and passions,” according to club president Jaime Cordova-Mendoza. Drew Loughlin, vice-president of J.P. Morgan and a 1993 graduate, told the club, “My strong work ethic and taking what I learned at CCSU and applying it on a day-to-day basis has contributed to my success.” On the horizon for the Finance Department is refreshing its curriculum and standards to ensure that graduates are trained in state-of-the-art finance theory and applications. To that end, three undergraduate concentrations—investments, insurance, and banking—are being developed. This will involve all members of the department, including, besides Cutler, Czyrnik, and Terry, Drs. Zakri Bello, Scott Mackey, and James Parker, and Mitchell Charkiewicz. “Skills for this millennium will be needed to use our changing technology, to continually refresh statistical knowledge, and to understand constantly evolving finance theory,” said Cutler. “Finance theory, which surprisingly is only 50 years old, has completely revolutionized the world. No wonder that since 1990 five finance theorists won Nobel prizes for contributing knowledge proven to benefit mankind. Our students and faculty are living and learning in an historic time. As has been observed in Business Week ‘the study of finance is the mainstay of business education.’ A sailor myself, I can appreciate what that means. If the mainstay, which holds up the mast and sails, is loose or broken, you’re dead in the water; you’re not headed anywhere. I’m proud to say, the Finance Department is a strong and sturdy mainstay equipped to educate students full speed ahead.”
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