Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Category: Announcements

Tech in top 10 for ROI among Midwest schools

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MTU graduates Rosanna Chopp and Willow Carmody at this year's commencement ceremony.

What’s a university education worth? That’s a question often asked by students, parents and legislators.

According to 2013 rankings recently released by PayScale, Michigan Tech graduates rank 18th in the nation among 437 public universities in the return on investment (ROI) from their degrees. PayScale is a website that compares the cost of a college education to the salaries earned by graduates.

PayScale ranked Michigan Tech in the top 10 for ROI among Midwest schools. ROI is defined as the cost of attending college compared to the gain in income over thirty years of a college graduate over a high school graduate.

This year Tech ranked 77th among all 1,511 public and private colleges and universities evaluated by the website. Michigan Tech’s ranking in PayScale’s annual report rose from 102 among all universities and 44 among public universities last year.

“This is impressive,” said President Glenn Mroz. “It validates what we believe here at Michigan Tech, that we are truly preparing our students to take their place as well-educated citizens, to get jobs, earn good salaries and create the future.”

The report listed the typical starting salary of a Michigan Tech graduate at $56,000 and the thirty-year net ROI at $999,300.

In an interview on “The Daily Ticker” on the Yahoo Finance website this week, former Secretary of Education William Bennett said that the ROI is positive only for about 150 of the nation’s 3,500 institutions of higher learning. Michigan Tech is one of those 150. Bennett analyzed the ROI of colleges and universities for his book, Is College Worth It?

This article was written by UMC public relations director, Jennifer Donovan, for Tech Today.

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APMP Students Attend Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Event

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Michael Morrison and Austin Kuttruff at the Century Center in Omaha, Nebraska.

Applied Portfolio Management Program members, Michael Morrison and Austin Kuttruff, gathered with thousands of stakeholders at the Century Center in Omaha, Nebraska over the weekend for the Annual Berkshire Hathaway Shareholder Event. The crowd in attendance was seeking an intimate exposure to Warren Buffet who is widely considered the most successful investor in the 20th century.

Michael said that one of the biggest takeaways from listening to Buffett was “you have to love something to do well at it.” Being Finance majors, the two Michigan Tech School of Business and Economics students jumped at the opportunity to attend the shareholder event and learned about the passion that is required to be successful. The opportunity to meet Warren Buffett, his company, and its subsidiaries is highly coveted in the world of finance. Their itinerary included watching a movie about Buffett’s company, and the opportunity to ask him questions in an open forum.


Given the Warren Buffet is 82 years old, some shareholders had concerns about the future of Berkshire after he eventually steps away. However, Buffett addressed these concerns with confidence in his company and the people who work there, saying:

The priority is that all of us continue to zealously guard Berkshire’s reputation. We can’t be perfect but we can try to be. As I’ve said in these memos for more than 25 years: We can afford to lose money – even a lot of money. But we can’t afford to lose reputation – even a shred of reputation.

Buffet told an Omaha news crew that he’s not going anywhere anytime soon, but there is a solid plan for when he does eventually step down. The people who will continue his legacy know the steps they must take to continue to be successful.

Overall, the trip was a great learning experience for the two students which was financially supported by Joe Dancy and the LSGI Advisors Inc.

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APMP Holds Junior Day

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Director of APMP, Dean Johnson, prepares another group of students for APMP participation during their senior year.

On April 22nd, the Applied Portfolio Management Program (APMP) held the sixth Annual “Junior Day”. This special event serves to kick start the incoming juniors, as they take over as the new portfolio managers of the APMP portfolio. The juniors began their morning by attending the Spring APMP Advisory Board and watching the graduating APMP senior student portfolio managers present their year-end performance results.  After being introduced to the APMP Advisory Board, the juniors attended a series of guest lectures. This year’s guest speakers included: Ryan Layton, Tim Bailey, Larry Durland, and Paul Kasriel.

Ryan Layton and Tim Bailey are both APMP alumni and introduce the juniors to the program that led them to the careers they have today.  Ryan currently works as a portfolio manager with Main Street Investment Advisors in Chicago. Mr. Layton discussed the importance of asset allocation and the process used by Main Street Investment Advisors to determine a portfolio’s optimal asset allocation. Mr. Bailey works at Fortress Investment Group in San Francisco, which is a $44 billion Private Equity/Hedge fund. He discussed alternative asset investing strategies employed in the hedge fund industry with the new APMP students.

APMP Advisory Board Chairman Larry Durland, discussed the thoughtful development of an investment philosophy and strategy, during his time with the APMP teams. In addition to talking to the APMP teams, Mr. Kasriel also opened his presentation to the entire School of Business and Economics.  Over 60 students attended his guest lecture on the current macroeconomic decisions facing the Federal Reserve and investors. A resident of Door County, Wisconsin, Mr. Kasriel serves as the President of Econtrarian, LLC and is a senior economics and investment advisor with Legacy Private Trust Company of Neenah, Wisconsin.

Junior Day give the students exposure and experience talking with professionals working in the world of finance. As APMP team members, they will be responsible to the APMP Advisory Board as they manage over $1 million during their senior year at Michigan Tech.

Financial support for Junior Day was provided by James and Dolores Trethewey.

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iOMe Challenge! Michigan Tech SBE needs your Vote!

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Michigan Tech’s School of Business and Economics has made it to the top 10 videos in the iOMe Challenge. As a part of the 3rd annual iOme Money Smart Week Video Contest, our students have a chance to win $250.00 for first place.  Vote for the winner by Liking the “Ome Challenge” Page and vote in the pole found on the wall of their Facebook Page.

Our team needs your votes because the winner will be selected through voting on Facebook. Take a minute to vote and spread the word to your friends!  Click here to Vote the for the Michigan Tech Team!  Go Huskies!

Voting ends TOMORROW Thursday, May 2nd at Midnight CST.

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Oliveira Named Student Organization Advisor of the Year

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Finace Club advisor, Emanuel Oliveira, names Student Organization Advisor of the Year.

Each year the Student Leadership Awards celebrate and reward the individual and group efforts of students involved in organizations across campus. There are awards for student employees, residence halls, and student organizations.

Congratulations to the following students, student organizations, and advisors for inspiring community, scholarship, possibilities, accountability and tenacity within Michigan Tech as well as our community.

Within the School of Business and Economics Senior Lecturer in Economics, Emanuel Oliveira, was selected at this year’s Student Organization Advisor of the Year. Emanuel participated and motivated the Finance Club organization’s membership and is respected by members of the organization. However, the greatest activities contributing to this award was the Finance Club’s FinanceU event last semester.

Yu Summer Gu, an MBA student, was also selected as an award recipient from the School of Business and Economics.  Summer was actively involved and enthusiastic in campus activities .  She was the driving force behind a greatly improved Chinese Night which had a larger attendance this year, almost tripling participation from any year prior.

Here are your 2013 Student Leadership Award recipients:

  • Melanie Hoffman, President’s Award for Leadership
  • Michael Adler, Provost Award for Scholarship
  • Claire Meneguzzo, Vice President’s Award for Service
  • Kevin Cassell, Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance
  • Yu Summer Gu, Exceptional Enthusiasm as a Student Leader
  • Jason Cattelino, Student Employee of the Year
  • Hannah Altscheffel, Rising Star of the Year
  • Caleb Vogt, Undergraduate Research Expo, Exceptional Program of the Year
  • Society of Women Engineers, Most Improved Student Organization
  • Leo Ureel II, Breaking Digital Barriers, Exceptional Community Service Project
  • Memorial Union Board, Student Organization of the Year
  • Emanuel Marcos R. Castro Oliveira, Student Organization Advisor of the Year

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