Philanthropist gives UCCS business students free subscription to Wall Street Journal

When businessman and former Colorado Rockies owner Jerry McMorris was a young man, he spent a part of each morning speed-reading The Wall Street Journal.

He credits part of his business success to the broad financial picture he developed from gleaning the pages of the financial paper. Now, he’s offering that same chance at success to business students at UCCS.

This fall, thanks to a grant from McMorris, the Wall Street Journal delivers 200 copies of the paper daily to Dwire Hall and gives 1,100 MBA and undergraduate business students access to subscriber-only online content. The pilot program is similar to one he began at CU-Boulder several years ago. Professors in the college are using the paper to enhance discussions in their classes, and students are finding the headlines have more meaning when they understand the concepts at play.

Tracy Gonzalez-Padron, assistant professor, Business, uses The Wall Street Journal in her graduate-level business, government and society course.

“I’m very happy to have it,” she said. “Especially with the current business headlines, it brings immediate relevancy to what we’re covering in class.”

Gonzalez-Padron asks her students to select an article that reflects class topic and start a discussion on the class’s electronic discussion board.

“This sort of interaction is possible because every student has access to the paper and its online content,” she said.

“This gift from Mr. McMorris will go a long way in pursuing our vision of building successful futures for our students,” said Venkat Reddy, dean, College of Business.  “The Wall Street Journal gives our students an opportunity to stay current with the latest happenings in the business world and discuss these issues in the classroom with faculty and fellow students, thereby tying theory and practice.”

Students already recognize the value of the program.

“Please pass on to Mr. McMorris my sincere gratitude,” wrote Michael Britt, a distance MBA student, shortly after receiving an email alerting him of the gift. Britt, who lives in Virginia, is specializing in project management and finance.

Simbi Madzudzo, an MBA student who already holds master’s degrees in information systems and atmospheric physics, echoed McMorris’ own sentiments in a note of thanks.

“I believe that reading The Wall Street Journal, in addition to the knowledge I am getting in my MBA classes, will help me in my vision to improve my life and [that] of others.”

Madzudzo, who has been reading the paper in the library for the past year, likes how the current news relates to case studies in his marketing and operations management classes.

“I get a better perspective on the current issues, and when I compare the news to cases, I can see the likely direction the company will take.”

The College of Business has more than 1,100 undergraduates and 450 MBA and Distance MBA students. The college is accredited by AACSB International, an organization that accredits less than 15 percent of business schools worldwide, and in 2007 was voted Best Business School in Colorado by readers of the Colorado Springs Business Journal.

-- Jana Hyde