The King’s College Offers Major in Finance

NEW YORK — August 20, 2013 — Beginning in September 2013, The King’s College will give students an honors-level opportunity to major in finance. The new degree program will combine the College’s academically rigorous education and biblical worldview with its location near the New York Stock Exchange and connections with those who work on Wall Street. This unique combination will create an ideal environment for students who want to pursue careers in finance.

“There is not a single citizen in America who does not have a stake in the integrity of our nation’s financial markets,” said Dr. Gregory Alan Thornbury, President of The King’s College. “As Martin Wolf, chief economics commentator for the Financial Times has observed, ‘The flow of reliable information and the ability to trust are the lifeblood of markets.’ Ultimately, the existence of both of these things flows from the character of those leading our market economy. For this reason, I am pleased to announce the launch of a new finance major at The King’s College as we pursue our mission and identity in the heart of the Financial District in New York City.”

With the vision of The King’s College to teach principled and practical leadership, the course of study in finance will offer qualified students an opportunity to think deeply about the impact of faith on cultural and ethical issues. Instructors with practical experience in Manhattan’s financial industries will help students understand what it is like to live and work among some of the nation’s most powerful financial minds.

Leigh-Anne Walker, Chair of the School of Business at the King’s College, has held positions at the executive level in the finance industry, including working as a Chief Financial Officer and CEO at a division of J.P. Morgan Chase and other Fortune 100 companies. Her experiences have compelled her to help The King’s College create and implement the new major.

“People have lost trust in the financial system,” Walker said. “Because there were so many industry practitioners, including those identified with Christianity, who acted without understanding how their actions affected the broader economic community.”

“We need a new community of finance professionals,” Walker continued. “They must be extraordinarily competent, and they also need to know that their work has meaning to God.” King’s is poised to train that kind of new community.

Because of the theologically informed liberal arts core offered by The King’s College, graduates have insight into their actions in a historical, philosophical, economic, and religious context. They are challenged to act in humility as those called by God to their careers. And they know how to think and how to write. The course of study in the business school provides fundamental knowledge of business practice.

Now, the new major will add finance skills to the mix, enabling students to be grounded in the technical aspects of finance and banking. The finance-specific curriculum will cover a broad range of topics including portfolio management, corporate finance, securities analysis and international finance. Students will develop competencies in mathematics, analytical techniques, portfolio theory, financial modeling, and economic environment comprehension.

Studying finance in New York City is not new, Walker notes. But, studying it here in a biblically rooted, liberal arts context is revolutionary.

“If you just want finance skills, there are many places to learn,” Walker continued. “If you want to learn how to work distinctively as a Christian, come to King’s and help me change the world.”