Students seem to have done well securing jobs in the field of finance; although that is clearly a function of the overall curriculum, not just my introductory course. However, I have received many comments that my class is among the most practical classes some have ever taken. It's also rewarding to hear students tell me they got excited about finance from my class, despite coming in with no particularly strong interest in the field.
impact statement issue
We need business leaders who are equipped to make good business decisions, and some of those decisions obviously relate to financial issues. Moreover, everyone has to make personal financial decisions, and learning some financial skills can impact one's ability to save for a home, a child's education, and a fulfilling retirement, among other things. In addition to the business and non-business majors I teach during the regular academic year, I teach and direct a summer business immersion geared to non-business majors. Along with my colleagues Pedro Perez and Debra Perosio, I have taught students with majors as diverse as horticulture, architecture, engineering, government, textiles and apparel management, industrial and labor relations, biology, fine arts, psychology, and hotel management.
impact statement response
Teaching roughly 5,000 students over the past 14 years, I have designed a finance class that prepares students for finance careers, if that is the direction they want to go, and gives everyone else the financial tools they may need in their chosen professions. In addition, by incorporating some personal financial material, I hope everyone walks away from my class better able to make decisions ensuring a secure financial future.
impact statement summary
Teaching finance to undergraduate business majors hoping to focus on finance as a career helps to prepare many of them for employment in financial services, corporate finance, and consulting. Teaching finance to nonfinance business majors and to non-business majors prepares them for some of the business issues they will face as entrepreneurs, agricultural managers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, and scientists, to name just a few directions in which my students go after graduation. Perhaps as important, however, is that while I do not teach a personal finance course, I hope to give my students a head start on good personal financial skills. Free of the constraints imposed by the consequences of poor personal financial decisions, I hope my students eventually have the financial freedom to pursue professional and personal interests for which they have a passion and which may contribute positively to society.
