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King's Receives Two Awards From Wall Street West

March 20, 2008 - King’s College received two of nine Innovation Investments awarded in the second round of Wall Street West funding.

Innovation Investments help sustain Wall Street West’s goal of building a stronger financial services sector in northeastern Pennsylvania through a qualified workforce. They also support workforce development organizations in relationship building, education, training, and economic development in the financial services industry. 

The two Innovation Investments received by King’s total almost $196,000 of the more than $500,000 awarded in the recent round of funding.

A grant of $103,928 will fund a week-long summer institute for high school junior and senior mathematics teachers to broaden teachers’ knowledge of the financial services industry, including the stock and bond market, mutual funds, unit investment and real estate investment trusts, portfolio diversification, asset allocation and variable and fixed annuities. The purpose is to educate high school juniors and seniors students to become competitive in back-up, disaster recovery, and back-office operations of New York City-based financial institutions.

A grant totaling $91,988 will fund the development and delivery of an Economics Certificate program for non-traditional students to prepare them for careers in the financial services industry. The proposed 18-credit certificate program, which will be administered by the King’s Center for Lifelong Learning, will use a blended format of classroom and on-line courses and integrated field study including internship opportunities provided by Prudential Retirement Services. 

Co-designed by King’s faculty and senior managers of Prudential Retirement (a business of Prudential Financial), the certificate courses will be eight weeks in length.  The program can be completed in one year, with two courses offered in the fall, spring and summer semesters.  Students in the program will be strongly encouraged to apply for an internship with Prudential Retirement located in Moosic.  If a student is not able to participate in an internship due to family obligations or workplace conflicts, an alternative field study and research project will be required.

About Wall Street West
Wall Street West is a not-for-profit partnership of more than two dozen local, regional and statewide economic development agencies, technology investment groups, workforce development organizations, educational and research institutions and experts from the private sector. The group secured a $15 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to help fund its effort to attract New York City-based financial institutions to establish their back-up and back-room operations in the region. The Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania is the fiscal agent of Wall Street West. The following institutions are Wall Street West partners:  PA Dept. of Labor and Industry, U.S. Dept. of Labor, PA Dept. of Community & Economic Development, Air Products & Chemicals, Berks County Workforce Investment Board, Berks Economic Partnership, Bloomsburg University, Blue Cross of NEPA, BobHay.com Realtors, CANDO. Inc., Coronel Management Group, Inc., DBSi, Department of Community & Economic Development Lehigh County, Diversified lnformation Technologies Inc., DSS Corporation, East Stroudsburg University, Fulton Bank, Great Valley Division; Greater Berks Development Fund, Greater Reading Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business & Industry, Johnson College, Junior Achievement, Berks; Junior Achievement of Northeastern PA, Inc., Keystone College, King’s College, Kutztown University, Lackawanna College, Lackawanna County WIA, Lakeland High School, Lehigh Carbon Community College, Lehigh University, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, Lehigh Valley Workforce Investment Board, Luzerne County Community College, Luzerne County Workforce Investment Office, Marywood University, Mid-Atlantic Venture Funds, Misericordia University, Monroe County CareerLink,  NE PA Educational Intermediate Unit, NEPA Alliance, NEPACU – Baptist Bible College, Northampton Community College, Northeastern Pennsylvania Technology Institute, PA Office of Financial Education, Penn State University, Berks; Penn’s Northeast, Pike County Workforce Development Agency, Pocono Counties WIA, Pocono Counties Workforce Investment Board, Pocono Mountains Chamber of Commerce, Pocono Mountain Economic Development Corp., PPL Corporation, Reading Area Community College, Riverside School District, Team Pennsylvania Foundation, Technology Development & Innovation-University of Scranton, Wayne County Economic Development Corp. and Wilkes University.

King's College is a Catholic College sponsored by the congregation of Holy Cross.