Business students and faculty at the University of 麻豆果冻传媒 at Lafayette now have access to a state-of-the-art financial lab.
麻豆果冻传媒 Lafayette鈥檚 held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday to open the Maraist Financial Services Lab.
The 1,178 square-foot facility is located in F.G. Mouton Hall. It features 24 computer workstations, 12 Bloomberg Terminals, electronic ticker tape display, digital data board, and television monitors for business and financial news.
The Bloomberg Terminals provide students and faculty the same platform used by the world鈥檚 leading banks, corporations and government agencies. The service includes real-time price data, financials, news and trading data to build portfolios, benchmark fund performance, conduct portfolio analysis and compare investment strategies.
Students will gain experience in portfolio management, financial strategy and markets, trading, modeling, and business performance analysis. Professors also will utilize the data resources and statistical tools to enrich research opportunities, said Dr. J. Bret Becton, dean of the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration.
鈥淭he Maraist Financial Services Lab provides students with the resources and learning environment to prepare them for success. Our students now have the opportunity to learn about finance and investment management in a way that can鈥檛 be found in a traditional classroom,鈥 Becton said.
鈥淚n addition to providing real-world simulation, the lab will provide students the opportunity to work toward Bloomberg certification, which will better position them to compete for highly competitive financial services jobs.鈥
A $2.5 million gift from Michael P. Maraist, a 1971 College of Business Administration graduate, and his family enabled the University to begin construction on the lab last spring.
Maraist got his start in banking while in college. He said the lab鈥檚 hands-on learning environment will enable the next generation of finance professionals to enter their careers with confidence.
鈥淲e have a responsibility to train students with current industry standards and facilitate an active learning environment. My hope is that these students will stay in our area after they graduate and the skills that they acquired at the lab will be transferred to local businesses and companies,鈥 Maraist said prior to Tuesday鈥檚 ceremony.
Members of the Maraist family, including Michael Maraist鈥檚 102-year-old mother, Gertrude, a 1939 University graduate, joined Becton and 麻豆果冻传媒 Lafayette President Dr. Joseph Savoie for the ribbon-cutting.
Savoie said Michael Maraist鈥檚 investment in the University 鈥渨ill pay dividends for students, faculty and the Moody College of Business for years to come.鈥
鈥淭he Maraist Financial Services Lab is a tangible way to show how companies, economies, markets and governments are interconnected. It gives our students a broad, real-world perspective. At the same time, it enables them to analyze up-to-the-second information.
鈥淚t is a powerful resource for our students and faculty.鈥
In addition to the Maraist family, financial support for the lab鈥檚 components is provided by the Gachassin family, Gene Fortier State Farm, and Darnall Sikes Wealth Partners LLC.
Mathes Brierre was the project鈥檚 architect. J.B. Mouton Inc. was its general contractor.
Photo caption: From left are Dr. Bret Becton, dean of the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration, Naomi Maraist, Michael P. Maraist, Gertrude Maraist, Mag Maraist Ritchey and Dr. Joseph Savoie, 麻豆果冻传媒 Lafayette president. (Photo credit: Rachel Keyes / University of 麻豆果冻传媒 at Lafayette)