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Canisius CFA Team Competes in Semi-Finals

by | Apr 3, 2013 | Faculty, Staff

For the second time in three years, a team of Canisius College finance students advanced to the semi finals of the Americas Regional Finals of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Research Challenge.

CFA Institute Research Challenge is a competition between university-sponsored teams that research a designated publicly-traded company, prepare a written report on that select company and then present their findings to a panel of judges.  The competition tests the analytic, valuation, reporting writing and presentation skills of university students.

The competition started with approximately 400 university teams from North and South America.  The Canisius team won first place for the third consecutive year at the Western New York CFA competition, which was hosted by the college.  The Canisius team then competed in Toronto, Ontario, with 47 winning teams from regional universities, and advanced to the final 16 semi-finals.

“This is a great accomplishment for our students,” says Richard A. Wall, PhD, professor of economics and finance and interim vice president for academic affairs.  “It is a testament to their ability to apply their knowledge, work as a collaborative research team, and successfully compete with the top schools in North and South America.”

The Canisius team is comprised of students from the college’s Golden Griffin Fund (GGF), the college’s first real-money, equity investment fund managed by undergraduate and graduate finance majors. The Canisius team includes: Drew Pettit ’13 (team captain), Brandon Carnovale ’14, Drew Jaskowiak ’13, Don Monroe ’13 and Micah Puscheck ’13.  Wall serves as the faculty advisor to the Canisius team.  Jeffrey Viksjo ’06, CFA, senior financial analyst at First Niagara Financial Group, is the team’s industry mentor.

Read more here.

Submitted by: Marketing and Communication

Canisius Students’ Research Shapes Hardwick’s Resolution

by | Apr 3, 2013 | Faculty, Parents, Staff

Kevin R. Hardwick, PhD, professor of political science and a member of the Erie County Legislature for the 4th District, used information gathered by students in his public administration class to propose a resolution that calls for a 12-month land option on the NFTA’s property in the Buffalo Outer Harbor to allow the Greater Buffalo Sports and Entertainment Complex (GSBEC) to explore the possibility of developing a downtown stadium.

Hardwick and his students, team leader Olivia Hill 14, Thomas Khansari ’16, Stephanie McGrath ’13, Marissa Petrias ’14 and Kevin Pope ’14,  held a news conference on March 26 at the Legislature to announce and discuss their proposal.

The group noted that the waterfront has been unused land for years and this stadium could start the revitalization process the city of Buffalo needs.
“Although there is work that still needs to be done in the development of this project, as a group we believe the potential outcome merits more inquiry and the land option granted to GSBEC,” said Hill.

“This was a unique class project and I am extremely proud of the work of my students,” adds Hardwick. “There is certainly an upside to the GSBEC’s proposal and if we were able to turn the corner this could be big.”

Hardwick compiled the students’ report into a resolution that he will submit before the Legislature at its Thursday, April 11 sessions. The resolution calls for (GSBEC) to be allowed to obtain the land option from the NFTA for exploration and development of a downtown stadium.

Submitted by: Marketing and Communication