*In this photo:* (L-r) College of Business Dean Michael Casson; Sherri Trombley, Director of Advisor Services, Business Consulting & Education at Charles Schwab; and Greg Coverdale, Director of the Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Institute, pose for a photo after the ribbon cutting ceremony.

On Campus

University’s Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Institute dedicated

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

In a significant upgrade in its Financial Planning and Wealth Management education programs, the College of Business has dedicated its new DSU College of Business/Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Institute.

Located in Room 105 on the first floor of the Bank of America Building on campus, the University christened the new College of Business facility with an April 2 Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony. College of Business Dean Michael Casson and Greg Coverdale, the DSU COB/CSFLI Director were joined in the ceremony by Charles Schwab representatives Sherri Trombley and Leslie Tabor. Dr. Michael Casson, Sherri Trombley and Greg Coverdale cut the ribbon for the Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Institute.

The Delaware General Assembly was also represented at the ceremony by the attendance of State Sen. Eric Buckson and State. Rep. Jeff Hilovsky.

The DSU COB/CSFLI is a major fruit of DSU’s partnership with Schwab Advisor Services and the Charles Schwab Foundation, which is supporting the expansion of the College of Business’ Financial Planning curriculum.

Dr. Michael Casson, Dean of the DSU College of Business, said the Financial Literacy Institute was inspired by the problem of financial literacy, wellness, and resilience within distressed communities.

“Charles Schwab’s commitment, expertise and leadership in the financial literacy sphere has led to the economic and financial empowerment of communities across the country,” Dean Casson said. “And we are proud to join forces with the Charles Schwab Foundation to continue this critical work. They have fully leaned in with their time, talent, and resources, which has served as the catalyst for DSU COB/Charles Schwab Financial Literacy Institute.”

Ms. Trombley, Director of Advisor Services, Business Consulting and Education at Charles Schwab, said the new Financial Literacy Institute at DSU will provide hands-on, experiential learning and help students explore careers in financial services and the Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs) industry. DSU College of Business were a large part of the audience for the dedication of the Financial Literacy Institute

“The opportunity is there. The RIA profession is only expected to continue to grow,” Ms. Trombley said. “Based on current growth rates and the number of RIAs, the industry will need to hire more than 70,000 new staff over the next five years. Students are the future of the RIA industry.”

The DSU COB/CSFLI is a state-of-the-art facility that includes a Bloomberg Terminal that will enable students to do Wall Street portfolio management-level investment research. DSU’s COB/CSFLI Room will also have Webex technology that connects students and faculty to global communications, which includes virtual visual capabilities.

In addition, the DSU COB/CSFLI facility with have live streaming quotes that will allow the tracking of markets and securities.

Greg Coverdale, the Director of the new DSU COB/CSFLI, notes that financial literacy can have great short-term and long-term impact in lives of people.

“Financial Literacy includes understanding budgeting, the basics of saving and investing, and also managing debt properly. This encompasses planning financially for things like retirement, education, and leaving a legacy for your heirs,” Mr. Coverdale said. “Debt management and maintaining good credit standing is important as it affects so many areas of your life including, whether or not you can buy a home, the types of jobs you can hold, the cost of the large purchases that must be financed, and so much more.”

State Rep. Hilovsky commended DSU and the Charles Schwab company for their establishment of the DSU COB/CSFLI, noting that he also has introduced legislation this year – House Bill 203 – that would require a mandatory financial literacy course for all Delaware high school students. Del. Rep. Jeff Hilovsky spoke of the need for greater financial literacy among the First State populace.

“We have a low percentage of individuals in our state, especially students of color, who actually get this education. How can you exist when the playing field is like that?” Rep. Hilovsky said. “It needs to be like this (pointing at the DSU COB/CSFLI). When we do that, everyone gets better, we have a better workforce, we have better commence, we build better businesses.”

After the ceremony, the students had lunch with financial professionals and later attended a session that focused on the RIA industry and heard from guest speaker Craig S. Jones, J.D., Managing Director and Chief Diversity Officer at The Colony Group.