“Life is a book, and if you do not travel, you never go beyond the first chapter.” –Saint Augustine
After 42 years at Michigan Technological University, a chapter is complete for Thomas (Tom) Merz. Tom has been a professor of economics in the College of Business since 1980 and served as associate dean of the College for 10 years. He held visiting faculty positions with universities in Western Australia, Denmark, and Vietnam.
Jerrid Burdue (a third year economics student) just returned from presenting his winning iOME essay in Washington DC. Faculty adviser, Dr. Emanuel Xavier-Oliveira and the Interim Dean of the School of Business and Economics, Dr. Dean Johnson accompanied Burdue on his trip. Jerrid discussed his proposal for improving the savings of millennials with Senator Stabenow, and met with Senator Peters to talk over his currently pending bill, THE COMPETES BILL. This bill would increase funding for STEM research. Burdue, Oliveira and Johnson discussed ways the School of Business and Economics could assist with the implementation of the bill. The group was also able to spend extended time with Senator Peter’s key staffers that work with retirement savings where they discussed the importance of the commercialization of this research.
While in Washington, Jerrid was also featured on a panel to discuss millennial savings patterns and habits. Other panelists included representatives from the Department of Labor, the Treasury Department, and Congressional staff from both republic and democratic parties.
Read more about Burdue, and see his essay here.
By Mark Wilcox
A promotion used at his financial institution, provided the inspiration a Michigan Technological University undergraduate needed to take the top prize in a prestigious national essay competition.
For the past four years, teams from Michigan Tech’s School of Business and Economics had advanced to the finals of the iOme Challenge. In 2012 the SBE team took home Honorable Mention and a $2,000 prize. Finally this year, a Husky has emerged as the champion.
Jerrid Burdue has been named winner of the iOme Challenge for his essay and innovative video focused on federal government proposals related to education requirements, the myRA program, Social Security taxes and the Saver’s Credit.
As a result of the win, the third-year student from Niles, Michigan, was awarded the top prize of $5,000 and will travel to Washington, D.C. later this month to present his essay at the Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER) Forum.
Dr. Emanuel Xavier-Oliveira (SBE) and other professors of economics from universities such as Purdue and Yale were asked by the financial web site WalletHub to comment on growth strategies that state economies can adopt in order to improve or return to full capacity. It was part of a WalletHub report just released on the states with the best and worst economies. News of the report has been picked up by Forbes and CBS News, among others.
An entry from Michigan Tech’s School of Business and Economics (SBE) has been named a finalist in the iOme Challenge, a national competition.
The SBE’s entry was an essay written by Jerrid Burdue. Emaneul Oliveira (SBE) is the faculty advisor. The official announcement of the ultimate winning team will be June 6.
This is the fourth time SBE has participated in the iOme competition with our team reaching the finals each time they competed. SBE did not participate in 2015 because the competition changed the time frame from the Fall to Spring semester.
The iOme Challenge is coordinated by WISER (Women’s Institute For A Secure Retirement), in Washington D.C. and sponsored by entities such as the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, Financial Planning Association, Prudential, Experian, among others.
The winning team will go to Washington June 28 and 29 and present their essay to members of Congress, policy-makers and others who are interested in this policy issue.
A top prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winning student team and $1,500 to the team’s faculty advisor.
More information can be found on the iOme Challenge and WISER web sites.
– Tech Today
