thursday, february 26, 2004
news
the university daily kansan
Porfolio class invests in University
Students study portfolio management, donate earnings to Athletics Department
Annie Bernethy/Kansan
Students in the Advanced Portfolio Management class listened to a business presentation yesterday. Students in the class manage portfolios, then donate their earnings to the University.
By Jadie Kraft
jkraff@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
While some classes take tests or listen to lectures, one business class manages a portfolio of about $670 000 and donates money back to the University of Kansas.
In the Advanced Portfolio Management class, 30 students analyze about 30 companies and make buying or selling decisions based on research and guest presentations by representatives of the companies.
Kent McCarthy, a KU graduate, started the class in 1994 with a donation of $250,000.
As the class fund grows, so have donations made to the University.
This year $50,000 will go to the Athletics Department.
The money was part of a $100,000 donation of stocks made by McCarthy last July to go to softball, baseball and basketball programs.
Paul Koch, professor of business, said students combine all the skills they learned in the different areas of the School of Business such as accounting, marketing, distribution, finance and taxes.
He said the pressure of managing real companies and real money made for a practical class.
"There's no textbook for this class," Koch said. "This is the real world."
Under the instruction of Josh Selzer, guest lecturer and Kansas City, Mo., businessman, groups of students analyze four or five companies and write case studies evaluating the opportunities and risks of each.
From there, the CEO or president of the critiqued company will come to the class and give a presentation about the company.
"There's no textbook for this class. This is the real world."
Paul Koch Professor of business
Class members will then use this information when voting to buy, sell or stay where they are with the company.
Along with McCarthy, Selzer and Koch, Joan Huber and Allen Ford, professors of business, help with the class.
Other schools in the Big 12 Conference have similar classes, Koch said, but McCarthy's financial generosity and business connections made the University's class stand out.
"The difference is that in the other schools, they have someone like me teaching the class,"
Koch said. "Here, we've got Kent McCarthy."
He then worked for Goldman Sachs in New York from 1984 to 1994.
Since the creation of the class in 1994, McCarthy has stayed involved with most aspects of the class without accepting money from the University.
Koch said McCarthy would persuade presidents and CEOs of companies to fly to Kansas from places such as California, New York or London.
Because McCarthy lives in Nevada, the team of professors must work together to coordinate all aspects of the class.
Professors spend just as much time on the class as the students, Ford said.
"They don't pay the contacts to come," Koch said. "They come because it's Kent."
"To teach this class is very time intensive, but it's also time intensive for the students," he said.
Laura Hays, Wichita senior, said she spent about 10 hours per week outside of class researching her group's companies.
She said most members of the class didn't grasp how much their project was contributing to the University.
"We didn't realize that we did that, but I think it's pretty cool that we're making this money and it's going somewhere beyond the business school," Hays said.
-Edited by Nikki Nugent
Early submission key for receiving work study, grants
By Steve Vockrodt svockrodt@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Students who want a better chance at receiving financial aid for next school year should act quickly to get their application in before March 1.
While the beginning of the month is not the deadline for receiving assistance, it is the priority date for receiving some of the limited federal, state and institution funds.
Brenda Maigaard, director of the Office of Financial Aid, said she strongly recommended students and parents get their Free Application for Federal Student Aid submitted by Monday or sooner.
Students should complete the application online at www.fafsa.ed.gov because mailing the application would likely miss the priority date, she said.
The application for financial aid is free and all the information needed to complete the form can be found on students' and parents' tax returns.
Submitting an early application for financial assistance makes students eligible for need-based funding from Federal Supplemental Education Program, the Kansas Comprehensive Grant, the Perkins Loans Fund and the KU Tuition Grant, among others.
Students applying after the March 1 priority date can still receive financial aid for the 2004-05 school year, but run the risk of missing out on consideration from these additional funds.
"The competition for needbased funds are high and it's
Useful Web sites University of Kansas Financial Aid Web site: www.financialaid.ku.edu
Federal Government Financial Aid Application Website: www.fafsa.ad.gov
Priority date for financial aid is March 1. For more information, call the KU Office of Financial Aid at 864-4700.
more likely we will run out of those funds." Maigare said.
The Federal Supplemental Educational Program and the KU Tuition Grant offered grants of $1,000 last year, while the Perkins Loans Fund gave out $4,000 grants to students.
The priority date also offers students more options for work-study programs, although funding for such positions has drastically declined.
Maigaard added that federal government has cut back on funding for work-study in recent years.
"Regretfully, federal allocation is going down for work study," Maigard said. "That is always a concern for me, the office, and students, which makes meeting that priority date more important."
Ann Hartley, associate director of employment services, said many departments at the University lacked enough funding for work-study, especially after the campus minimum wage increased to $6 an hour a year ago.
Maigaard also encouraged students and parents to contact state legislators to push for increased support for higher education in light of recent education funding cutbacks.
Edited by Stephanie Lovett
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