Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Marquette University's AIM Program October 2012 Newsletter

Marquette’s Undergraduate Finance Program Nationally Ranked in Top 20

As part of its annual “Best Colleges” rankings, U.S. News and World Report ranks the nation’s best undergraduate business programs, as well as business specialty programs. Only about 25 programs are ranked in each specialty category annually. This year U.S. News recognized Marquette’s finance program 18th among all of the nation’s business schools. 



“We are pleased that Marquette’s College of Business Administration continues to be ranked among the top tier of the nation’s most
 competitive business schools,” said Linda Salchenberger, Keyes Dean of Business Administration. “It’s truly an honor to see our programs in entrepreneurship, finance and supply chain management recognized for the great work of our faculty in preparing our students to solve business and social problems.”
 

U.S. News and World Report 
Best Colleges Ranking US News 2012 - Finance Programs

1 University of Pennsylvania
2 New York University
3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
4 University of Berkeley
5 University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
6 University of Texas - Austin
7 University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
8 University of Virginia
9 Indiana University - Bloomington
10 Carnegie Mellon University
11 Ohio State University - Columbus
11 University of Florida
11 University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign
14 Boston College
14 University of Southern California
16 Cornell University
17 Washington University in St. Louis
18 Marquette University
18 Loyola University Chicago
18 Seattle University
18 University of Maryland - College Park
22 Loyola University - Maryland
22 University of Notre Dame
22 University of Wisconsin - Madison
 
Dr. David Krause, AIM program director commented, “I’m very pleased with the ranking of the finance program at Marquette. We’ve worked hard to not only become one of the top programs in the Midwest, but to be recognized nationally as a leader in applied finance. To be ranked in the top 20 is an honor, but we won’t rest on our laurels – we’ll continue to improve. Our curriculum continues to adapt to the changing global financial environment – and our affiliation with the CFA Institute will ensure that it remains relevant and current.”
 
 
The business school rankings are based on a peer assessment survey of deans and senior faculty at each U.S. undergraduate business program accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). Participants were asked to rate the quality of all programs they were familiar with on a scale of 1 (marginal) to 5 (distinguished). The rankings of the best undergraduate business programs in a specialty area were based on the spring 2011 peer survey.
 
Additional stories appeared in the local Milwaukee media including the Milwaukee Business Journal:  http://tinyurl.com/bizjournals-MUBIZ   and the Milwaukee Business Times:  http://tinyurl.com/biztimes-MUBIZ



 
The AIM Program Has Hit the Ground Running This Semester

Since the semester began, the AIM program has been running at full throttle. Visitors to the AIM classroom this semester have already included:
  • Keith Hanson (State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio)
  • Dan Tranchita (R.W. Baird and Company)
  • Tom Eck (Cortina Asset Management)
  • Kristin Finn and Karen Rinehart (Marquette’s Career Services)
  • Shayla Martin and Kenneil Hemmings (Bloomberg)
  • Bill Walker (Mason Street Advisors)
  • Will Lunkes (Morgan Stanley)
  • Brandon Nelson (Timpani Asset Management)
  • Christi Kubiak (Mason Street Advisors)
  • Quinn Noel (Mason Street Advisors)
  • Amie Hahn (Mason Street Advisors)
  • Rodney Hathaway (1492 Capital Management)
  • Tom Digenan (UBS)
  • Ray Lefebvre (Wells Capital Management)
In addition to a full schedule of classroom speakers, the AIM students have already held five sets of equity presentations (two that were hosted in the AIM Room on campus and video-conferenced to over thirty viewers nationwide – and three ‘road shows’). The Friday afternoon ‘road shows’ this semester have been hosted by Cleary Gull, Ziegler Lotsoff, and Cortina Asset Management. 
 
The students again had the privilege of visiting R.W. Baird and Company – who annually hosts the AIM Program field trip. "The ability to attend themorning meeting and to meet with the various functional heads at Baird is a highlight each fall, " Dr. David Krause, AIM program director said. “The students appreciate the opportunity to visit investment firms and to see firsthand the inner workings of Baird and other local companies. These visits support the ‘applied’ element in our program and allow the students to see the principles they are learning in the classroom come to life.”
 
Ten AIM students also trekked to Chicago in September to pitch their equity recommendations to the investment professionals at Ziegler Lotsoff. Dr. Krause said, "The students did an excellent job and the analysts and portfolio managers at Ziegler Lotsoff asked challenging and insightful questions. It was also great to see Tiffany Roberts (an AIM '10 graduate), who also attended the presentations.”

Following the equity presentations the AIM students visited Fiduciary Management Associates. Krause commented, "We had an excellent discussion over lunch with two of the principals of the firm: Kathy Vorisek and Leo Harmon. The discussion touched on various investment topics, such as the CFA program, Fiduciary Management Associates, and the small cap investment process. We had a delightful meeting and are very appreciative for the time Kathy and Leo gave us. I'm certain in the future and that we will return and present our small cap recommendations to the professionals at FMA."

Archive AIM Student Equity Write-upsIn short, the AIM program has begun the semester with an aggressive schedule (RT: live link to past write-ups) that’s not likely to slow down. Dr. Krause stated, “We have five more road shows scheduled this fall, including visits to Mason Street Advisors, Timpani Asset Management, Wells Capital, American Family Insurance, and the Chicago Circles alumni event. Additionally we are likely to have more presentations that will be video-conferenced from the AIM Room this semester. We're off to a very good start." 



Marquette’s Finance Program Achieves Special Status with Citigroup and JP Morgan
 
Dr. Linda Salchenberger, Keyes Dean of Business Administration at Marquette University, was recently informed that Citi Private Bank North America is targeting Marquette University and will be expanding their commitment to recruiting for the full time analyst program.  She stated, “Marquette University was selected as part of a small group of target schools for Citi’s Private Bank analyst program based on a number of criteria. We couldn’t be more pleased with this decision.”
Dr. Krause, AIM program director added, “A special thank you goes out to the Marquette alumni who work at Citigroup who helped us achieve this designation.  This includes Sue Harnett, Dan Williams, Bob Leonard, Adam Bordner, and Tom Kavanagh. Their efforts are greatly appreciated by everyone within the College of Business Administration. We are hopeful that we can increase the number of MU graduates who work for Citigroup.”
Earlier this summer, Dean Salchenberger also was informed that Marquette was designated as an “alumni school” by JP Morgan. She commented, “This provides some special recruiting opportunities for our students. We look forward to expanding our relationship with JP Morgan.”
 

Dr. Krause added, “We are thankful for the efforts of our JPM alumni. This includes those that are based in New York: Gerry Madigan, Caitlin Gerdes, Ryan Loftus, and Christina Starkey – and our Midwest based alumni that include: Frank Esposito, Joe Esposito, Tom Villanova, Bill Fritz, Mike D’Agostino, Tiffany Roberts, and Caitlin Johnson.  This is another important designation for our College."
 

SAVE-THE-DATE
Thursday, February 16th 2012 
You are invited to the
Fifth Annual AIM Investment Forum and Reception
Marquette University
Weasler Auditorium
Moderator:  Dr. David Krause, AIM Program Director
Investment experts to be announced
Agenda
5:00 - 6:30 pm - Investment Panel
6:30 - 7:30 pm - AIM Reception


Electronic invitations will go out late in December