Making Big Gains
The student-run University of Oregon Investment Group bests nineteen other schools to win a prestigious portfolio management competition.
Every Friday, University of Oregon Investment Group (UOIG) team members meet in the Lundquist College of Business to ask difficult questions about the financial valuation of a company that a fellow student spent forty hours preparing. It's an informed and high-level debate, and as the conversation continues, the enthusiasm of all students grows more evident in their speech, their faces, and flashes of insight in their eyes. By the time they vote on whether to invest in the company, you know their decision is sound. And you have a clear understanding of why the UOIG recently won the annual portfolio competition sponsored by D.A. Davidson & Co. (DADCO).
In winning the competition, the UOIG posted a remarkable 29.35 percent return on the $50,000 that DADCO provided as seed money. That compares to a 17.37 percent performance by the Dow Jones Industrial Average over the same period (September 2006?August 2007) and a 10.04 percent gain by the comparable Russell 2000 Index. DADCO donated half of the earnings from the returns in excess of 5 percent to UOIG, or just over $6,000. The student club put the money toward renewing the lease for the Bloomberg Terminal in its office in the Lillis Business Complex. The terminal allows students to monitor and analyze real-time financial market data.
But the real prize wasn't the money or even winning. It was the experience.
"Membership in the UOIG accelerates our learning and shows us what it is really like to be a financial analyst. The UOIG challenges us to think beyond what we thought possible. It shows us what we are capable of when we apply classroom knowledge to actual industry practice," said Matt Ross, the group's director of operations.
Though it is the first time the UOIG has won the DADCO competition, the group has finished in the top tier several times. In fact, since being invited to compete in 1999-2000, UOIG has the highest compounded return--an astounding 106.77 percent--among all competitors.
Report Gives UO "A" for Green Building
The Lillis Business Complex helps the University of Oregon earn high marks for sustainability.
Renowned management expert Peter Drucker once said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it." Applying Drucker's insight requires leading by example. For instance, lessons learned about sustainability are reinforced when those courses take place in an energy-efficient building. Such reinforcement happens every day in the Lillis Business Complex at the Lundquist College of Business, and that is one of the reasons why the recently released College Sustainability Report Card 2008 graded the University of Oregon an "A" in green building.
The report, produced by the Sustainable Endowments Institute, noted that UO received high marks for green building because "campus sustainable development guidelines and a campus environmental policy require adherence to LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] Silver certification criteria." The Lillis Business Complex was the first building on the UO campus to receive LEED Silver certification, and it is a major reason the UO adapted the standard for all buildings.
The report also singled out the Lillis Business Complex as one of the greenest business school facilities in the nation. The green elements of the building include one of the largest installed arrays of architectural solar glass, a natural day-lighting system, and use of recycled and natural materials. Those sustainability elements were also integrated throughout the college's Peterson Hall, which recently underwent renovations. The historic hall was completely modernized with a sky-lit staircase, occupancy sensors, natural Marmoleum floors, low-VOC paints, and more. The renovations brought Peterson Hall into compliance with the LEED Silver standard, making it a seamless part of the Lillis Business Complex.
The nonprofit Sustainable Endowment Institute is the only independent sustainability evaluator of colleges and universities in North America. The College Sustainability Report Card 2008 assessed more than 200 public and private institutions in eight categories. The University of Oregon received an "A" in five of eight categories, qualifying it as one of only twenty Campus Sustainability Leaders. Only 18 percent of the 200 colleges and universities evaluated received an "A" for green building.
An Award-Winning Experience
Alpha Kappa Psi students put their business skills to the test and win a national award.
Lundquist College of Business students in the University of Oregon chapter of Alpha Kappa Psi (AKPsi) didn't set out to win national acclaim, they just wanted to help prepare fellow students for professional success. Last spring, the student-run chapter of AKPsi, a professional business society, collaborated with the UO Career Center to host the Dress for Success Fashion Show and Etiquette Dinner, which helps students hone their social skills while networking with potential employers.
By partnering with the Career Center, AKPsi students saw an opportunity to apply lessons learned in their courses. Consequently, fifty-two AKPsi students worked together in committees with the Career Center to plan and implement all facets of the event. Tasks included preparing and defending a budget, inviting employers to send representatives, selling sponsorships, and working with local businesses. The students even helped organize a Web 2.0 marketing campaign that made use of Facebook, an online social networking site.
"The project took our business education to a whole new level," said Maria Schell, president of UO's AKPsi chapter. "We are always completing group projects in our courses, but to work for an actual client changed the dynamic. There wasn't a professor telling you what was due when. We had to create our own deadlines, manage our own budgets, and learn how to best communicate our goals and progress."
"The collaboration was a great learning experience for students. It taught us how to problem solve and think creatively," added Schell. "We are grateful to UO Career Center staff for giving us this opportunity. Their expertise, knowledge, and contacts helped AKPsi members succeed."
As a result of AKPsi's hard work, 180 students--a significant increase--gained important networking skills at the Dress for Success Fashion Show and Business Etiquette Dinner. Not only that, the event was recognized at the national AKPsi convention in Washington, D.C., in August 2007 as the Best Professional Event of the Year among 200 active chapters. At the convention, UO student Alex Peerenboom was also named the national AKPsi Brother of the Year. It was an incredible honor considering that AKPsi boasts nearly 10,000 members with alumni including Ronald Reagan and Lee Iacocca.
Article updated based on additional information from AKPsi and the UO Career Center.