Starting this fall, students at the Frank G. Zarb School of Business will gain a real competitive edge in preparing for high-level positions in the financial world, when they become the first classes to use the new trading room facility in the newly constructed Financial Technology Center.

An artist's rendering of Hofstra's new trading room, which opened in time for the fall 2005 semester.

"We want to integrate the trading room into existing courses so our students can experience how the market actually works," says Dr. Ralph S. Polimeni, dean of the Zarb School. "Finance is a very dynamic field, and it's more exciting to experience it" by means of Wall Street-like trading floor simulations than by simply discussing "bids," "ask prices" and "spreads," says Dr. Nancy W. Huckins, associate professor and chair of the Department of Finance.

The simulated electronic trading room, located on the main floor of C.V. Starr Hall, was completed during the summer. Upon their return to campus for the fall 2005 semester, students will find this 1,500-square-foot facility complete with wall boards and a ticker displaying data from various equity, fixed income, foreign exchange, and derivatives markets. These features join the 34 dual-panel Bloomberg terminals that were installed in January 2005, to provide students and instructors with access to Bloomberg professional data and information services – the same industry-standard data, analytics and software used by Wall Streeters to make investment, trading and financing decisions.

Although only a nominal number of students and faculty were given a closeup look at the high-end terminals while the room was under construction, Drs. Polimeni and Huckins estimate that several hundred students will use the trading room this fall semester.

"It won't be a typical classroom," Dean Polimeni promises. "There are a lot of bells and whistles. It will be an exciting room to be in. Students will be using the same real-time data as the investment and financial pros," he says.

Moreover, he notes, "The trading room will enhance the overall reputation of the Zarb School. It's a very powerful tool that puts us at another level, among top-notch business schools. It gives Hofstra and our students a major competitive advantage."

Dr. Huckins adds, "It also gives us a very dynamic classroom experience. Having our students training on actual Bloomberg terminals will put them ahead of those at most other universities." As a result, she says, "They'll be able to hit the ground running" at major financial firms.

Besides the 30 Bloomberg terminals for class use, there are four terminals set aside where faculty and advanced students can do research. The room also houses television monitors tuned to CNBC or Bloomberg Television. Costs for construction of the Financial Technology Center and its trading room have been funded through donations to the University.

The trading room's schedule will be tied to courses and research projects in several disciplines, especially finance, business computer information systems, and quantitative methods, as well as accounting, marketing and management. Dr. Huckins says that she would like to incorporate more hands-on experiences into such courses as financial markets, financial modeling, and derivatives. In addition, she notes, "We can bring in other students who are taking introductory courses," as a way to make the subject matter come alive for them.

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