The University of Connecticut School of Business will guarantee undergraduate admission to any graduate of a state community college who achieves at least a 3.3 grade point average.
UConn launched its Guaranteed Admissions Program as a pilot program in 2004, but until now has limited the program to its liberal arts and sciences school, and its agriculture and natural resources school.
UCONN STAMFORD
The University of Connecticut Stamford is launching a new master”™s of science in financial risk management, with classes scheduled to begin this fall for the 15-month program.
The program”™s director is Prof. Chinmoy Ghosh, head of the department of finance at UConn Stamford. The Global Association of Risk Professionals assisted the school in crafting a curriculum; GARP administers the FRM certification exam used by the industry, and has reached similar partnerships with several other schools.
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“We have established a program that combines theory and practice and will play a vital part in continuing to elevate the role of the risk manager in today’s business world,” said Chris Donohue, a GARP managing director, in a prepared statement.
Classes will be held evenings and weekends in a bid to attract students from banks, hedge funds and other financial companies in the area.
UNIVERSITY OF BRIDGEPORT
University of Bridgeport alumnus Shintaro Akatsu donated $2 million to the school to create the Shintaro Akatsu School of Design, the largest single gift to the school in years.
Starting in the fall 2010, SASD will add two degree programs to its existing tracks in ”“graphic, interior, and graphic design: a bachelor of arts in pre-architecture, and a masters in professional studies in design management, a sort of MBA for the design set.
The school will also use the gift to create a video production and photography studio for students in the graphic design track; an exhibition and furniture design lab for the creation of full-size furniture and massive exhibition displays similar to those found at conventions and major sports events; and a ceramic design studio for training programs in tabletop design and the production of mass-produced lines of glassware. The latter program is to be led by SASD director Richard Yelle, who before coming to the University of Bridgeport worked with Villeroy & Boch; and co-founded UrbanGlass, a nonprofit glassmaker in New York City.
“Shintaro”™s ”¦ remarkable dedication makes it possible to create a design school that prepares students with a full range of training in all aspects of design, from industrial design to video production and new media concentrations to design management,” said Neil Albert Salonen, president of the University of Bridgeport.
Akatsu, 48, is president of the energy company Kamata Corp. and other businesses, including Tokyo-based Grom, a specialty gelato store, and the Berengo Akatsu Art Gallery. He graduated from the University of Bridgeport in 1988 with a bachelor”™s degree in international business.
“International business has cultures and rules that are particular to different countries. It can make it difficult to communicate,” Akatsu said, in a statement released by the University of Bridgeport. “But design doesn”™t have a barrier. If it”™s good, people respond to it. Also, a lot of my time is devoted to designing products, to marketing, to branding. Design is very important in the business field these days.”
