SARASOTA, Fla. (March 20, 2017) – USF Sarasota-Manatee has received a major gift of 12 Bloomberg financial terminals, and to celebrate the campus is hosting a Financial Literacy Day with more than a dozen renowned financial experts including William C. Dudley, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
“This is tremendous,” College of Business Dean Dr. James Curran said of the donation of the terminals, which allows finance professionals to monitor real-time market data. “This is going to give our students access to the same information that financial experts around the world use to make major financial decisions.”
The gift amounts to about $60,000 and comes courtesy of Sarasota-based financial firm Cumberland Advisors and David R. Kotok, Cumberland’s founder and Chief Investment Officer.
The terminals will be based at a second-floor lab at USF Sarasota-Manatee and available to students from USFSM’s College of Business as well as students from institutions within the C4 (Consortium of Colleges on the Creative Coast). That consortium includes, in addition to USFSM, New College of Florida, Ringling College of Art & Design, State College of Florida, FSU/The Ringling and Eckerd College.
The gold standard of financial information networks, Bloomberg terminals typically are employed by Wall Street traders and portfolio investors. Kotok said he hopes students use the systems for papers and research projects.
The contribution pays for a one-year subscription to the Bloomberg system. It will enable students to access information about financial markets, economics, pricing data and descriptions, as well as data about stocks, bonds, mutual funds and information concerning Gross Domestic Product, the inflation rate and employment statistics.
“This contribution was made in order to help students learn about the ever-changing world of finance and investments via the most cutting-edge technology available,” Kotok said. “Also, since moving our firm from New Jersey to Sarasota in 2010 we are always looking for ways to help maintain and improve the lifestyle that attracted us to Sarasota originally. We look at that as a responsibility.
“Donating these terminals to USF Sarasota-Manatee and the community is a way we can do that,” he said. “Perhaps they will attract students to the area and potentially keep students in the greater Sarasota area.”
To celebrate the donation, USF Sarasota-Manatee and Cumberland Advisors are hosting a Financial Literacy Day for the Sarasota-Manatee community, scheduled March 30 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus, 8350 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.
In addition to keynote speaker Dudley, the event will include remarks by more than a dozen renowned financial experts, including Michael Chriszt, vice president and public affairs officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta; David Berson, senior vice president and chief economist at Nationwide Mutual; Kathleen Hayes, worldwide Bloomberg TV and radio journalist; fellow Bloomberg journalist Michael McKee; Edward F. Keon, Jr., managing director and portfolio manager at Quantitative Management Associates; Kozo Koide, chief economist at DIAM Co., Ltd., Japan; and Michael Drury, chief economist at McVean Trading & Investments and chairman of the Global Interdependence Center.
Kotok, who has written articles for The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal and contributes regularly to Bloomberg TV, Fox Business and other media, will offer remarks as well.
The Financial Literacy Day is open to the public. Tickets are $50. Lunch is included. To register, visit usfsm.edu/FinancialLiteracy. For more information, call (941) 359-4455.
Dean Curran is also expected to address attendees. He said the donation of the terminals will distinguish USFSM’s College of Business from most other business colleges that lack the technology. He anticipates hundreds of students, both undergraduate and graduate, having access to the terminals.
“I’ve seen demonstrations of it and it’s an amazing system,” he said.
To learn more about USF Sarasota-Manatee’s College of Business, visit usfsm.edu/college-of-business.
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About USF Sarasota-Manatee (USFSM)
USF Sarasota-Manatee is a regional campus of the University of South Florida system, offering the prestige of a nationally ranked research university with the convenience of a hometown location, including classes in Manatee County, Venice and online. Separately accredited, USFSM is ideal for those interested in pursuing a baccalaureate or master’s degree, professional certification, or continuing education credit in a small, personal setting with distinguished faculty and a dynamic curriculum of over 40 academic programs. Website: www.usfsm.edu.