New Scholarship Program at Stevens Aims to Increase Underrepresented Minorities in Finance
Stevens has been selected as one of eight universities to receive scholarship support from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Foundation, Stevens commitment to diversity and caliber of Hanlon Labs
(Hoboken, N.J. – Feb. 27, 2019) – Stevens Institute of Technology has been selected by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Group Foundation as one of eight U.S. academic institutions – and the only one outside of Chicago – to receive scholarship support for underrepresented minorities and low-income students looking to progress their education and careers in the financial services industry.
The CME Scholars Program, which will support 25 students across the eight schools, will not only provide $20,000 each year for up to three years, but will also appoint a dedicated person in New York to connect Stevens students with internship opportunities.
“New York City is the global capital of finance, and even freshmen at the School of Business participate in internships at Stevens,” said George Calhoun, industry professor at the School of Business and director of the Hanlon Financial Systems Center, which encompasses the Hanlon Financial Systems Lab and the Hanlon Lab for Financial Analytics and Data Visualization. “CME Scholars will have the benefit of these exceptional opportunities while also having some of the most sophisticated finance and data visualization technology at their fingertips in the Hanlon Labs.”
The scholarship comes as a result of an ongoing relationship with the CME Group Foundation built upon Stevens’ longstanding commitment to expanding access to underrepresented minorities and students from underserved communities. The relationship has been further strengthened by Stevens’ unparalleled caliber of the Hanlon Financial Systems Center, the only facility of its kind in the U.S. where students and researchers have access to a financial technology environment on par with what they will find at top Wall Street and fintech firms.
Over the past several years, the foundation awarded Stevens $200,000 to expand its educational and research initiatives at the School of Business notably to support the building of SHIFT, a realistic simulation platform for high frequency trading which provides students unique exposure to the dynamic connection between theory and real-world real time trading.
With the CME foundation grant, researchers and students also developed algorithms for quantum computing in finance and systemic risk, while also hosting and presenting at conferences in cybersecurity and high frequency trading.
The CME Scholars Program complements two recent initiatives Stevens launched in the last year, and aligns with the university’s strategic goal of increasing the number and percentage of underrepresented minorities and students from underserved communities. While the ACES program, short for Accessing Careers in Engineering and Science, provides support for top pre-college and college students interested in STEM, the Clark Scholars Program is designed for exceptional, high-performing students who are traditionally underrepresented in the engineering fields and exhibit a passion for making a difference.
Equipped with the Hanlon Labs’ state-of-the-art technology and supported by Stevens commitment to diversity, the CME Scholars Program will be open to low-income, underrepresented minorities majoring in finance, computer science, information technology, math, cyber security, data science, statistics or financial engineering.
“Dedication and quality of education are critical assets for a successful career in modern finance,” said Papa Momar Ndiaye, associate teaching professor and chief research officer of the Hanlon Financial Systems Center. “While equipping the CME Scholars with a first-class education – a lifelong asset – we also provide them with the opportunity to have a successful and impactful career and to do their share for the good of society.”
To learn more about the CME Scholars Program, visit the CME Group Foundation website.
About Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology is a premier, private research university situated in Hoboken, New Jersey overlooking the Manhattan skyline. Since our founding in 1870, technological innovation has always been the hallmark and legacy of Stevens’ education and research. Within the university’s three schools and one college, 6,900 undergraduate and graduate students collaborate closely with faculty in an interdisciplinary, student-centric, entrepreneurial environment. Academic and research programs spanning business, computing, engineering, the arts and other fields actively advance the frontiers of science and leverage technology to confront our most pressing global challenges. The university is consistently ranked among the nation’s elite for return on tuition investment, career services and the mid-career salaries of alumni.
Media Contact: Keri Fitzpatrick, 201.216.5139, [email protected]