RWU receives $3M grant to launch endowed professorships for business faculty

BRISTOL – Roger Williams University recently received a $3 million grant to make four matching gifts to launch endowed professorships for its faculty within the Mario J. Gabelli School of Business.

The university says the endowed professorship challenge is among new initiatives Gabelli School Dean Diya Dias is introducing to help what the university says will foster a stronger culture of faculty scholarship, academic excellence and innovation.

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RWU board of trustees Chairperson Timothy Yeaton and his wife, Susan, helped fund the first endowed professorship, which was awarded to RWU finance professor Michael Melton. The university says it will announce additional endowed professorships at the Gabelli School “in the years ahead.”

Melton, RWU says, founded the university’s Center for Advanced Financial Education in 2004 with the goal to teach students to be fund managers, analysts and traders equipped to become leaders within the financial services sector.

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In the program, CAFE students manage two distinct investment portfolios in real time, learning how to research, analyze and manage real-dollar investments without having to vet their decisions by an advisory board, the university says.

“As we look forward to celebrating CAFE’s 20th anniversary, I am excited to continue the work of preparing our students to become the business leaders the world needs next,” Melton said in a statement.

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.