Applied Finance Center provides OHIO students with unique learning, networking opportunities

Thanks to the efforts of several dedicated Ohio University alumni working in the business world, OHIO’s Applied Finance Center is helping students prepare for their own professional careers.

Formally approved by the Ohio University Board of Trustees in 2024, the Applied Finance Center provides students with experiential learning programs, access to valuable resources and applied experiences outside of the classroom. The center provides training programs and skills improvement workshops throughout the year for all OHIO students, all designed to help them begin their careers in the finance industry, and it has already proven to be very successful.

That success is due in a large part to alumni such as Michael Rodarte, Brad Morrissey, Travis Blair and Jillian Moorman.

“We are grateful to our incredible alumni for their generous contributions and dedication to helping our students,” Dean Jackie Rees Ulmer said. “Thanks to their support, the Applied Finance Center is providing our students with essential opportunities that are helping them to prepare for and be successful in their careers.”

Rodarte's first gift to OHIO in 2010 supported the College of Business Emergency Scholarship Fund. Since then, his financial generosity has grown through a Finance Enhancement Fund, an award for First-Generation & Inclusive Leaders in Finance and Analytics, and support for the Division of Diversity and Inclusion, which have significantly advanced opportunities for College of Business Bobcats.

In 2023, Rodarte embraced the opportunity to join Morrissey, Blair and Moorman in creating the Finance Forward Fund. Both Moorman and Morrissey work as research associates at Sycamore Capital in Cincinnati alongside Rodarte, a Portfolio Manager at Sycamore Capital, while Blair serves as vice president of Debt Capital Markets at Amherst in Austin, Texas. All four are alumni of the Ohio University Student Equity Management Group.

The concept of the Applied Finance Center was then introduced to the group by Dr. Travis Davidson, the Leona Hughes Associate Professor of Finance and chair of the Finance Department at OHIO. Davidson saw the potential to serve more students in the finance major by enhancing the experiential and co-curricular programming. 

Davidson and the alumni all believe strongly in the value of advanced skills training, the mentorship program, and networking trips designed to strengthen the career pipeline for finance students. They also recognized that having a dedicated faculty member to guide these initiatives would be key to expanding resources and opportunities across finance programs.

“As a graduate of Ohio University's College of Business, I am grateful for the opportunities I had as a student, which have shaped my career in equity research,” Morrissey said. “Joining the Student Equity Management Group as a freshman provided me with the initial skillset and relationships that jump-started my professional path. I genuinely enjoy what I do and am very fond of my time at Ohio University, so I wanted to participate in this effort to support current finance students with their professional development and networking opportunities.”

With the support of these committed alumni, Davidson enlisted Luke McElfresh, associate professor of instruction in finance to oversee the top priorities of the Applied Finance Center proposal and to serve as the center’s first director. McElfresh’s efforts, backed by alumni contributions, led to the expansion of the finance mentorship program and helped the first group of Bobcats receive reimbursement for passing the SIE exam, a critical step for many finance careers. In addition, the Applied Finance Center is providing resources and services to promote certifications that are important, and at times necessary, for financial professionals to obtain. 

“This is an exciting time to be a part of the Finance Department,” Davidson said.  “For years, we have encouraged students to pursue external certifications while here at OHIO, but now thanks to the generosity of our donors, we are able to put our money where our mouth is.  In the coming months, the Applied Finance Center will be expanding the availability of study materials for certifications and greatly increasing the number of certifications that we can reimburse students for passing, relieving the financial burden of getting ahead in the industry. Our donors are significantly increasing our ability to help our students excel in their future careers.”

Preparing OHIO students for successful careers

The Applied Finance Center training programs focus on utilizing industry-standard technology in order to best prepare OHIO students for their careers. This includes the basics of using a Bloomberg terminal, FactSet, advanced training on Excel, and a multitude of other technologies. Additional workshop topics in the queue include resume building, best practices on LinkedIn, interview preparation, and financial literacy.

In addition, the Applied Finance Center is planning to coordinate trips for OHIO students to visit company offices and take part in networking opportunities with industry professionals around the country. The Applied Finance Center also assists student finance groups at OHIO with mentoring and support.

The Applied Finance Center is making a positive difference in the lives of today’s OHIO students, thanks to the commitment of these dedicated OHIO alumni.

"I see great value investing in the students today that will soon become the future of the finance industry,” Moorman said. She explained that from her personal experience, she knows just how impactful the College of Business, Finance Department and different finance organizations can be in providing students with experiences that help to prepare them for their careers.

“The further we can enhance that through giving students the ability to attend employer relations trips, provide resources for external industry certifications, and mentorship the better they will be positioned,” Moorman said. “My hope is the Finance Forward Fund along with the newly launched Applied Finance Center can impact students and the broader community in a way that goes beyond what is learned just inside the classroom."

For more information on the Applied Finance Center and its wide array of resources including specialized workshops, networking trips, speaker engagements, financial literacy programs, and certification preparation, see the Applied Finance Center website.