Wilkes University’s Sidhu School of Business and Leadership is participating in the Barron’s in Education program. The Sidhu School’s participation in the program is made possible by a sponsorship provided by Michael Hirthler, founder, president and chief executive officer of Jacobi Capital Management. In 2011 and 2012, Hirthler was named to Barron’s list of top 1,000 financial advisors in the nation.
Barron’s, published by Dow Jones & Co., is a weekly newspaper and online news site covering financial news and market developments. The program provides students and faculty in the business school with free access to Barron’s online content and with activities designed to ensure that future business leaders are equipped with financial literacy skills.
Abel Adekola, dean of the Sidhu School, said the the Barron’s initiative builds on the robust resources already available to Wilkes business students that link them to the world of finance, such as Bloomberg news terminals and financial market tickers.
“Our participation in the Barron’s in Education Program adds significant value to our corporate finance and financial investment programs led by Sidhu faculty Dr. Dean Frear and Dr. Ken Wang,” Adekola said. “This collaboration is a win-win for the Sidhu School, putting us in the company of institutions like Penn State, Boston College, George Mason University, Florida Atlantic University and the University of Colorado. We are very grateful to Mike Hirthler and Jacobi Capital Management for selecting our business school as a partner.”
Hirthler of Jacobi Capital Management said he is pleased to be able to bring the program to the University. “Jacobi Capital Management is proud to bring the Barrons in Education program to Wilkes.,” Hirthler said. “Wilkes now joins a very distinguished list of schools participating in this exceptional program from the Dow Jones company and Barrons.”
In addition to free access to online content, experiential learning activities provided in the Barron’s in Education program include opportunities to visit the Dow Jones headquarters in New York City, touring the newsrooms of Barron’s, The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch, and participating in webinars with Barron’s representatives and experts from Jacobi Capital Management. As a participant, the Sidhu School receives the Barron’s Next newsletter and Wilkes business faculty also receive Barron’s “Weekly Review.”
The Barron’s in Education program also allows selected Sidhu School students to participate in Barron’s Student Ambassador Program, which is designed to connect Barron’s with the next generation of business leaders. During the 2018-2019 academic year, the three Sidhu student ambassadors are seniors Austin Hackenburg, and Nicole Harmer, both finance majors, and junior Alec Levin, an accounting and finance major. As ambassadors, the students are trained to be the on-campus experts and will be the eyes and ears for feedback to Barron’s. They also have direct communication with the head of financial education at Dow Jones and team members.
