By Jocelyn Ramirez
Dominican’s Brennan School of Business (BSB) is set to unveil a state-of-the-art Financial Trading Business Analytics & Data Science Center. This center marks a significant milestone in the institution’s commitment to enhancing students’ education.
Having been only a dream for nearly two decades, this space has been finalized and is set to open in mid-March 2025.
Roberto Curci, vice provost for strategic initiatives and external relations and dean of the Brennan School of Business, envisioned a space where students could go beyond theoretical learning. He wants students to explore the dynamic world of investments, business analytics, and data science.
“We want these students to be exposed to investments as a field,” Curci explained.
Challenges were numerous, space was the first hurdle, while funding was another critical obstacle. However, Dominican secured multiple strategic grants, including the Title V Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA), Title III STEM, Title V El Faro, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) Connecting Minority Communities Program (CMC) technology grants.
This represents an investment of approximately $500,000 to enhance educational opportunities and technological infrastructure for students.
The center will feature 18 seats with dual monitors, a glass-walled conference room with a Bloomberg terminal, and live financial news displays.
Anne Drougas, associate dean and professor of the Brennan School of Business, sees the center as a platform of empowerment.
“It’s about promoting leadership and collaboration,” she says.
Students will have access to financial resources including live market data and networking opportunities.
Ramiro Atristain, executive in residence for BSB and adjunct instructor of finance, brings a practitioner’s perspective, recalling his early days in banking, remembering the excitement of seeing how money truly moves.
“Students will learn how a public company trades and how it is impacted,” he says.
The center isn’t just about technology or finance, it’s about inspiration across multiple disciplines.
From hosting guest speakers in various fields to providing mentorship programs, it aims to ignite students’ passion for data-driven decision-making and analytics.
The revived Brennan Investment Club will play a crucial role, offering students hands-on experience in applying analytical strategies to real-world business problems, but not limited to finance.
The center will also emphasize the importance of data science and analytics in other sectors such as healthcare, marketing, and supply chain management.
For students eager to prepare, Atristain recommends listening to Marketplace on NPR, while Drougas suggests podcasts like We Study Billionaires and Fintech Insider.
Resources at Dominican include the Financial Wellness program, which supports students’ financial literacy journey.
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