UW-Eau Claire, a leader in Bloomberg access
With the addition of these 10 Bloomberg terminals, UW-Eau Claire is now uniquely positioned as a regional provider of this critical asset for business education. According to Jepsen, only UW-Madison, UW-Green Bay and the University of Minnesota Twin Cities have Bloomberg labs of similar size.
“We have a substantially larger Bloomberg presence than comparable institutions in this region,” Jepsen says. “Every student in the College of Business will have at least one experience in the Bloomberg lab, starting with their introductory finance class. This level of access sets us apart.”
Dr. Pedro Sottile, professor and chair of the accounting and finance department, echoes Jepsen’s thoughts about the standout access provided in this lab.
“A full Bloomberg lab like this is a resource that few undergraduate business programs can offer at this scale,” Sottile says. “As our graduates enter job interviews, their ability to discuss prior experience analyzing a company, an industry, interest rates or economic conditions using Bloomberg will be unique.”
Grateful students chime in
Prior to the official ribbon cutting, students have already been able to access the Bloomberg terminals for several weeks, and the reaction is a happy one.
Eli Keirstead is a senior finance major from Prior Lake, Minnesota, who has been using the existing Bloomberg technology for years, starting as a junior analyst on the Student Managed Investment Fund through the Foundation. Now a senior analyst, Keirstead says this expanded space and the upgrades in quality and number of monitors are a vast improvement for all.
“I’ve been using Bloomberg since two little monitors were tucked away in a hallway in Schneider and later a closet in Centennial Hall,” Keirstead says. “The difference is night and day. Student fund analysts can now work side by side on live data and make buy and sell recommendations faster and with more confidence. The dual monitors and dedicated space also make it feel like a professional environment, which pushes students to take the work more seriously.”
Keirstead also says that the sheer number of monitors will encourage more students with any level of finance curiosity to “sit down and build skills,” whether they are in finance, marketing, economics or other majors.
Phoebe Hernandez of Marshfield, a senior double-majoring in accounting and applied economics, says that her introduction to Bloomberg “changed her career goals entirely,” and she believes this increased access may do the same for others.
“Bloomberg fluency used to be a dream for only the few students who knew about it, even though it's one of the most sought-after skills in finance. Most people do not get near this technology until their first industry job,” she says. “Now it’s available to so many more students, and UW-Eau Claire can become known for producing top talent in many realms of business.”
An added bonus in the new space
As the Grace Lau and Charles Tsui Finance Lab fully launches this new permanent space for Bloomberg, Jepsen notes a level of collaboration and camaraderie that she did not expect to see.
She says every time she pops her head into the lab there are vibrant conversations and exchanges happening in groups.
“What a great surprise,” Jepsen says. “That’s an element of camaraderie that people don’t necessarily realize or associate with something like an investment lab, but it’s happening here.”
