School of Business
Although the Trinity School of Business faced some challenges in the decades following its founding in 1883—including mergers with other departments and several temporary closures—it has nonetheless served as an innovator in Experiential Learning since the beginning. In its early years, Trinity’s School of Business taught penmanship, typewriting, and bookkeeping along with other practical skills. Toward the middle of the 20th century, the business school focused on theory-based learning, including classes on management and leadership. Gradually, business classes expanded to include both Experiential Learning and traditional lecture-based education. Today, the School of Business provides more Experiential Learning programs than ever for young professionals, such as the Student Managed Fund, in which students invest funds from the University’s endowment.
Student Managed Fund
Beginning in 1998, Trinity’s Student Managed Fund has allotted certain business students a sum of money for the purpose of investing to beat the market. The fund began with roughly $500,000 at its disposal and has blossomed into more than $6,000,000 today. One of the program’s founders, Dr Phillip Cooley, said that, at the time, only 1% of universities provided a similar program. Although the Student Managed Fund is not an internship, students must apply to participate on the project, write a letter to the committee explaining why they would be a qualified candidate, and interview with the professor who advises the program.
2008: Student Managed Fund
Photo of senior students Nick Blazosky, Bobby Whitlow, and Andrew Thompson, who proposed purchasing stock in Xerox for the Student Managed Fund.
1886 Business Practice and Office Practice Departments
The early years of the Business program stressed hands-on education for professional application. The program believed employing these methods would lead students to learn faster than through purely theory-based learning. With these principals in mind, the business department began two programs. The Business Practice department entrusted students with $500 to start their own business and learn the necessary skills to become successful business owners. The Office department sent students to work with partner companies to learn how to work in an office environment. The students worked in conjunction with the College National Bank, Merchants’ Emporium, B.C. Railroad, real estate, and insurance offices.
“We have an obligation to the students to help them grow.”
Dr. Diana Young, Assistant Business Analytics and Technology Professor
“They don’t understand until they do it in the real world.”
Dr. Dominic Morais, Sport Management Professor
“I’ve always been a big believer in not just teaching management theory but really preparing the students for the real world and how the pieces of theory and information are put into practice because my first goal is to get them excited about what they’re learning.”
Dr. Rita Kosnik, Negotiations, Strategic Management, and Management of Organizations Professor
