By Aldo Svaldi
Of the Denver Post
DENVER, Colo. (Denver Post)--The University of Colorado Denver
Business School on Thursday opened the J.P. Morgan Center for
Commodities, calling it a first-of-a-kind program that intertwines
commodity finance, public policy and economics, the Denver Post
reported.
"There are no programs dealing with the broad range of
commodities," said Sueann Ambron, the school's dean.
The center is on the first floor of the school's new business
building at 1475 Lawrence St.
A feasibility study the university did found 77 programs
specializing in equity trading, five focused on energy trading and
isolated labs on niche areas, Ambron said.
"We agreed there was a void there," said Blythe Masters, who
oversees more than 600 workers worldwide as head of J.P. Morgan
Global Commodities.
J.P. Morgan announced Thursday it would make a $5.5 million gift
to the program, which comes on top of an earlier donation of $2.5
million in February from Greenwood Village-based CoBank. The J.P.
Morgan donation will fund an endowed chair for a professor to
research commodity market issues, as well as provide
scholarships.
The investment bank will help craft the curriculum, lend the
expertise of its employees and hire graduates, Masters said.
The industry doesn't need just people who know how to trade but
workers who understand the interplay between what they are doing
with broader topics such as public policy and sustainability, she
said.
Ambron gives credit for the original idea for the program to
George Solich, president and chief executive of Cordillera Energy
Partners and an alumnus of the school.
Website: www.denverpost.com
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