Colleges to prepare local execs for ‘Wall Street West'

Grant sets regional seeds for needed next generation financial professionals DALLAS — Wall Street West recently awarded Misericordia University a $280,500 grant to lead The Cadre of Executives in Residence Professional Training Program for high school, undergraduate, graduate and adult students in a 10-county area. Misericordia will also contribute an additional $164,500 to the grant, one of six Gap Investment projects that Wall Street West approved in November, for a total regional investment of $445,000 in the regional workforce. Gap Investment projects focus on creating programs that will strengthen the core workforce capacity to make the region a pre-eminent locale for business attraction, according to Wall Street West. Overall, Wall Street West has awarded more than $8.5 million in funding since 2007, including $601,718 to Misericordia University. Misericordia University, in collaboration with Lackawanna College, Luzerne County and Northampton community colleges, and 70 school districts in the Wall Street West region, will identify, train, coordinate and supervise 15 executives in residence to advance the education of a workforce that supports the employment needs of an expanding financial services sector. “The funds from Wall Street West will allow Misericordia to better tap experts in the financial services industry as speakers, and occasionally adjunct faculty in our expanding business program,” said Michael A. MacDowell, president, Misericordia University. “Misericordia has made a commitment to help produce financial service professionals for what will no doubt once again become a growth industry in northeastern PA.” In order to attract financial services companies to northeastern PA, the region’s colleges and universities have to educate the next generation of financial services personnel and provide professional development opportunities for people already in the field. Through the new program, institutions of higher education will tap into the experience and expertise of existing professionals in financial services sub-industries, like banking, insurance, brokerage and financial planning, to complement traditional classroom-based education by full-time and adjunct faculty. Faculty will provide the curriculum, technical assistance and teaching structure while executives in residence will furnish the business leadership and industry knowledge, such as regulations, trends and strategies specific to their industries, to effectively narrow the gap between classroom instruction and what employers require for today’s evolving financial services sector. Fifteen executives in residence are going to be selected from the participating region, including Berks, Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne counties. The corporate executives will be chosen for their experiential knowledge, successful practice experience and the ability to effectively incorporate their professional experiences into classroom discussion at the four institutions and 70 school districts currently involved in the Financial Literacy Program supported by Wall Street West. The executives will also learn how to best incorporate their real-world knowledge into the classroom environment through faculty training. It will create a knowledge bridge between the financial services and higher learning sectors by having continuing dialogue and assessment with contacts at Misericordia University’s Center for Teaching and Learning, and Center for Adult and Continuing Education and three two-year colleges. The partnership will enhance and sustain a mutually beneficial and long-term relationship between faculty, executives in residence and the continuum of students. The program is going to employ the regionally developed curriculum, Preparing Tomorrow’s Financial Services Manpower Grades 11-MBA, which was also supported by Wall Street West. The newly developed curriculum will provide the executives with the content and program structure necessary to select and train them. The Cadre of Executives in Residence Professional Training Program is scheduled to be available for students beginning in the spring. Financial assistance is also available for qualifying students. For more information about the executives in residence program, please contact Tom O’Neill, dean, Center for Adult and Continuing Education at Misericordia University at 570-674-6154. Wall Street West is a nonprofit partnership that is developing backup operations in Northeastern Pennsylvania to support New York City’s financial district in case of a natural or manmade disaster. Wall Street West officials have highlighted the need to develop a skilled workforce for a growing financial services sector in northeastern PA. Misericordia University has also received past funding for the Financial Literacy Institute ($153,732) and the Preparing Tomorrow’s Financial Services Manpower Program ($167,486) from Wall Street West.