Current Students listen and take notes to the acounting professor's lecture.
Welcome to the University of Southern Maine, School of Business Undergraduate Program pages. The School of Business offers a unique educational environment that will help you prepare for your future. We work in partnership with the community to provide a dynamic learning experience in and out of the classroom. Business leaders are often invited as guest speakers to class lectures and at School of Business events. Students are encouraged to participate in an academic internship, which provides hands on experience and training.
This past spring, the School awarded over $15,000 in scholarship money to School of Business majors. Donors and recipients are brought together at an annual Recognition Day ceremony held especially for School of Business honorees. The School also has a traditional Welcome event in the fall and Career Day event in the spring, giving all School of Business students a chance to come together and meet the Dean, faculty, staff and fellow students.
Academic advisors are available to answer program and degree related questions. Each semester, the advisors send out a newsletter to advise students when to register for classes as well as update students on any new information they may need.
Thank you for your interest in the University of Southern Maine Undergraduate programs. Please contact us if you would like more information.
USM School of Business Students and Alumni Form Investment Club
While millions of dollars are being pulled out of the stock market, a group of University of Southern Maine students and alumni have formed an investing club, which held its first meeting earlier this month. Despite daily reports on a worsening economy, the club has already realized a small capital gain.
The University Investment Club of Southern Maine, LLC, was organized by USM Associate Professor of Finance Bert J. Smoluk, to provide real-life investing, educational and social opportunities for USM School of Business students and alumni. By limiting membership, the organization now has about 28 dues-paying members, the optimal size for such a club, Smoluk explained.
Club members are required to pay a $15 yearly administrative fee plus $50 monthly dues, which have been pooled with $2,500 of seed money donated by Smoluk. About a half dozen teams have been formed, which will review and present investment opportunities at club meetings. After presentations, members vote on which securities to invest in. Among the teams up and running are the Green (environmental); Technology; the Financial; Consumer Goods; and Bio-technology; and the Federal Reserve Committee.
Smoluk explained that members can withdraw their investment at the end of any quarter, and the club will meet monthly year round except for July and August. He was pleasantly surprised at the response to the e-mail invitation sent to students and alumni, explaining that he heard from former students he hasn’t spoken to in years.
The club has already realized a small capital gain in their initial investment. “The best time to invest is when the market is down,” explained Smoluk. “The only place it can go is up.”
For more information, see the club’s Web site at http://www.uinvestclub.com or contact Bert Smoluk at 780-4407, mailto:hsmoluk@usm.maine.edu.
The University of Southern Maine SIFE Team Receives Recognition at Regional Competition
The University of Southern Maine SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise) team returned to Portland as winners after participating in the Providence, R.I. SIFE USA Regional Competition earlier this month. The event was one of 16 SIFE USA Regional Competitions being held across the United States in March and April.
The team presented a report of their year-long community outreach projects to a panel of business leaders, which named them a SIFE USA Regional Champion. The team will now advance to the national level of SIFE competition, at the SIFE USA National Exposition May 13-15 in Chicago, Ill.
“The students made a fabulous presentation in Providence,” said USM Professor John Voyer, Sam Walton Fellow (faculty advisor) to the USM SIFE team. “They did some great projects this year, and they told their story with passion and polish. I was really proud of them.”
SIFE is an international non-profit organization active on more than 1,400 university campuses in 48 countries. SIFE teams create economic opportunities in their communities by organizing outreach projects that focus on market economics, entrepreneurship, personal finance, success skills, and business ethics.
During this academic year, the University of Southern Maine SIFE team organized seven projects in the Greater Portland community, including the Long Creek project, where USM students taught and mentored juvenile detainees in job hunting, financial literacy and entrepreneurship skills.
The USM SIFE Long Creek project has been growing and evolving over the course of four years and strives to have an enduring effect on the individuals at Long Creek. “This year, in addition to conducting interactive workshops, the SIFE team brought in local entrepreneurs to interact with the residents and share their experiences with entrepreneurship,” said project leader Michael Corson. “The SIFE team believes that by promoting the involvement of local business people, this project can have a significant effect on the community.”
For more information, contact John Voyer, 780-4597, or voyer@usm.maine.edu.
Go to www.usm.maine.edu/mcr/news/0708releases/SIFERegionals.jpg to see a photo of USM’s SIFE team.
