Welcome!

1. Welcome! Pamplin Finance Advisory Board Dr. Vijay Singal

2. Representation Advisory Board represents • Many industries – finance, consulting, diversified, leisure • Many locations – NYC, NoVa, Richmond, Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, etc. • Many levels – junior, senior, and entrepreneurs

3. Our Mission Mission • Excellence in research for visibility and outstanding teaching • Excellence in teaching and opportunities for students • Excellence in service to all stakeholders: students, alumni, faculty/staff, etc.

4. Overview of Finance • Faculty and Research • Students and Curriculum • Opportunities for students • Statistics and Awards • Challenges

5. Faculty and Research

6. Faculty Qualifications • 20 Full-time Faculty: all with terminal degrees • Degrees from top universities in the nation • 3 new faculty will be hired making a total of 23 • Expected to publish continually

7. Faculty Research • Our faculty stay informed of current trends and latest research in the financial world, and publish their newest research in top tier finance journals. • Virginia Tech ranks 8th in research productivity based on publications in a set of 16 finance journals (latest study for the last decade). • Virginia Tech ranks 16th in research productivity based on publications in the top three leading Finance Journals (latest study for the last decade). • Some faculty rank in the top 50 professors nationwide.

8. Faculty Books

9. Scholar of the Week Virginia Tech is home to about 1300 researchers. Each week, the Vice President for Research recognizes one outstanding researcher in the entire University. The first three Business School faculty to be recognized are all in the Finance Department. A total of five faculty have been recognized in less than 3 years.

10. A Faculty to be Proud of • Great student evaluations of classes and teachers • Median Class/Teacher Evaluation: 4.37 on a 5.0 scale • Many awards (only university level listed) • 3 Wine Award recipients • 1 Alumni Teaching Award • 1 Alumni Award for International Education • 1 State-level awardee

11. Curriculum and Students

12. Undergraduate Curriculum How many finance classes necessary to be a finance major or to have a finance concentration? - Virginia Tech: 8 classes plus Accounting - Maryland: 6 classes - UVa: 6 classes - NC State: 5 classes - Wake Forest: 5 classes - UNC: 4 classes

13. New Curriculum • Continually revised to better prepare students for the market place • Equal focus on fixed income and equities • Computer training: Visual Basic in Excel, Macros • Communication skills: Business writing, and writing intensive capstone courses • Specialized courses in derivatives, mergers, asset valuation, investment banking, portfolio managements, etc.

14. Challenging Curriculum • Junior year – Fall semester: Intro to Finance concurrently with Concepts and Skills. Must obtain a ‘C’ in Concepts and Skills. • Junior year – Spring semester: Corporate Finance and Investments (DED). Must obtain a ‘C’ in both these courses. Also, third semester of Accounting. • Senior year – Four Finance electives at a very high level.

15. Finance Concentrations • Investments and CFA track • CFA Institute approved; CFA Institute partner institution • Certified Financial Planner (CFP) track • Approved by the CFP Board • Corporate Financial Management • Financial Accounting • Financial Services Management

16. Student Opportunities Four opportunities for students to excel • Limited spaces • SEED: $5.0 million in equities • BASIS: $4.6 million in fixed income • Unlimited spaces • CFA Level 1 exam • CFP exam

17. Statistics and Awards

18. Demand for the Finance Major • Largest major in Pamplin • Both undergraduate students and MBA students choose Finance more than any other major. • More than 50% of MBAs • 275 seniors - growing

19. Winners of Pamplin Outstanding Young Alumnus Award 2003Bunge Foods 2004Sony 2005Atria 2007MGM Mirage

20. Placement • Second largest number of on-campus interviews compared with all other university departments • Location: VA (50%), MD/NC/DC (20%) • New York: Growing presence • Tremendous help from alumni

21. Access National Bank BB&T Capital One Circuit City Stores, Inc. Ferguson Enterprises First Citizens Bank General Electric Company Genworth Financial Ingersoll Rand John Hancock Financial Services Marriot Corporation Merrill Lynch Northrop Grumman Pricewaterhouse Coopers Virginia Asset Management, LLC Wachovia Companies Hiring Finance Majors

22. Undergraduate Finance Salary Report

23. Challenges and Prospects

24. Challenges remain • Budget reductions • Faculty retention • Compensation • Research databases and research support • Student recruitment and retention • Student scholarships • Student awards

25. Challenges remain • Additional student opportunities • Trading Room • Training on Bloomberg

26. Prospects are excellent • Excellent prospects for Pamplin and for Finance • Better trained faculty • Stronger students • Improving placements • Improving budget due to alumni support at the department level

27. Role of the Advisory Board • Curriculum • Evaluate the curriculum • Identify strengths and weaknesses • Suggestions for improvement • Placement • How to compete with schools with more recognizable names • Mentoring • Internships • Full-time positions

28. Role of the Advisory Board • Development • Needs that may be funded • Identify sources of funds • Best ways to tap those funds • Overall Direction of the Department

29. Thank you http://www.finance.pamplin.vt.edu/