NW Missouri Times

The Northwest Missouri State University community is invited to celebrate the inauguration of the new Finance Trading Room at the university's Melvin D. and Valorie G. Booth School of Business. The celebration is scheduled for April 24 at 8:30 a.m., marked by a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Room 3500 of Colden Hall.

This new facility has been transformed from a traditional classroom into a tech-forward space. It boasts computers, television monitors, and a ticker display essential for live tracking of financial markets. The room's design accommodates learning and collaboration, featuring dry-erase boards and mobile furniture. At the central computing station, instructors can integrate software operations into their teaching while partnering with students via additional monitors.

The room notably includes access to Bloomberg software, which opens the door to extensive finance databases, covering company filings, government securities, and economic events, among others. "The Bloomberg access is the ultimate access for financial data," stated Dr. Ben Blackford, director of the Booth School of Business. He added, "The space was set up so that it would be super flexible and still a very impressive classroom space."

The Booth School of Business is known for instilling crucial skills in its students, such as critical thinking, communication, ethical decision-making, and team collaboration. It is accredited by the Accreditation Council of Business Schools and Programs.