Barron’s in Education brings financial literacy to Rider

By Ryan Connelly 

Rider’s campus isn’t the only thing getting an upgrade this year.

 Rider is now the first school in New Jersey to partner with the Barron’s in Education program for the College of Business (CBA). The program is designed to provide financial literacy skills to young business majors. 

Barron’s in Education is a weekly newspaper that is released by Dow Jones and Company, a publishing and financial information firm, to provide a source of financial literacy to students. 

Many business students are looking forward to the Barron’s in Education program. 

“I think Barron’s can benefit students by being a reliable and informative source for financial information,” said Christopher Vena, a senior finance major. “Helping students learn more about real world situations can really help them excel in Rider’s business school and their future careers.”  

Barron’s in Education will also assist faculty and staff in the business school.

 “A huge benefit is that Barron’s is one of the leaders in financial literacy and understanding the financial markets in the world we operate in,” said Ronald Cook, director of entrepreneurial studies and the small business institute. “By partnering with them, all students, faculty and staff in the CBA [will have] free access to the digital content. We can give our students a leg up in financial literacy.”

Barron’s in Education is set to bring a great deal of opportunities and learning tools to Rider, at no cost to the university or students. This was made possible by Marc Shegoski, a managing director with Union Bank of Switzerland, and the senior partner of Princeton Investment Consulting.  

“[Shegoski] is interested in encouraging the financial literacy of students,” said Cook. “He has agreed to support this program for the next two years so there is no cost to Rider or to the students who will participate in this program.” 

Not only can Barron’s in Education benefit current business students, it could also help newer, undecided students decide what they should pick for their majors.  

“As an accounting and finance double major, I believe a program like [Barron’s in Education] can make accounting and finance more appealing majors to some freshman who are undecided within the business school at Rider,” said Vena. 

The program is tailored more toward students in the business programs in order to expand their knowledge on the future of business.

“Barron’s in Education is designed to look at the overall financial picture and financial literacy period of the next generation,” said Cook. “That’s something that [Barron’s in Education] is very interested in and they designed that program to be able to [help with] students’ professional careers.” 

The program will also help Rider business majors network with people in professional fields. CBA Dean, Cynthia Newman, will nominate up to four students to become student ambassadors for Dow Jones and Barron’s in Education. These students will be trained on campus to become experts and will be in direct contact with Joseph Lanza, head of financial educations at Dow Jones Media Group.