GCU’s Schwab Center investing in trading floor look – GCU News

When Colangelo College of Business students step into the Charles Schwab Foundation Finance Center this fall, they might feel like they’ve stepped onto a trading floor instead of into a Grand Canyon University classroom.

Renovations, which will begin this summer, come just two months after the announcement that students will be providing research for a stock exchange-traded fund as part of the college’s partnership with Christian financial firm Faith Investment Services.

Plans for the finance center’s remodeling are to incorporate a large ticker board in the center of the room, flanked by two smaller ticker boards that will scroll stock exchange listings.

“The Schwab Center not only has the look and feel of Wall Street, but the latest Bloomberg technology for our students to execute their research assignments,” CCOB Dean John Kaites said.

The frosting on the glass wall along the main corridor of the first floor of the CCOB will be lowered enough to allow tour groups to see inside the room while not distracting students during class.

The space, which will accommodate 34 students, serves as a finance learning center and lab for exams designed to help students get certified for the finance industry.

Business college leaders see the changes as a way to raise the profile of the CCOB and Schwab Center.

“As our students experience real-life research for the New York Stock exchange traded ETF: FTHB, they will have a learning environment that is compatible with their work,” Kaites said.

GCU earned national attention when the FIS Faith Income exchange-traded fund was officially listed on the New York Stock Exchange (FTHB). This fund is believed to be the first ETF – a tradable fund containing a mix of investments organized around a strategy – that provides educational opportunities to students.

CCOB and College of Theology students research high-quality funds as part of that partnership. They are not paid for their work but receive valuable experience.

The CCOB lobby, used frequently for the T.W. Lewis Speaker series and club meetings, also will be remodeled. The northwest corner of the lobby, used often for studying and small gatherings, will be transformed into two offices. Space will remain so students can continue gathering and studying in that area.

The reception desk – where student workers often direct foot traffic at the busiest part of the four-story, 150,000-square-foot building – will be repositioned so it will face the college’s entrance.

The CCOB was revamped last summer to add the T.W. Lewis Center for Student Success, a multifaceted facility that features a broadcast studio with a stick ticker, a podcast room and a broadcast control room.

A Career Services Center also was added on the first floor.

GCU News senior writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]