Jim Price, a trustee emeritus, and his wife, Midge, have donated $500,000 to establish the Alex. Brown Student Investment Program. The program—one of only 135 such investment funds at colleges around the country—will enable students to learn firsthand about investment strategies and working capital markets.
"When I finished college, I had no real-world knowledge of investing," said Price, a former partner and managing director of Alex. Brown. "It was learning on the job. When I joined Alex. Brown & Sons, I had great mentors but, as I look back, I always wished I had started with more knowledge of investments."
The $500,000 gift will form the corpus of a new fund to be invested, monitored and reported on by a select group of business management majors under the guidance of faculty and a fund advisory board. The students will gain this experience as part of a new course on capital markets and investment strategies that will include regular presentations by industry leaders and coursework on business ethics.
"By adding real-world connections, this program will transform how students learn about finance and investing," said Michael Harvey, professor and chair of the business management department. "The program makes it possible for our undergraduates to take on multi-million-dollar responsibilities, to learn by doing and to experience firsthand the complexities of investing and financial decision-making in today's markets. It's a large set of responsibilities, but I'm confident our students are up to it."
Price hopes that the course will not only impart academic knowledge but career advantages as well. "These students should arrive in the business world with the edge we want all Washington College graduates to have," he added.
The gift will memorialize the name of Alex. Brown at Washington College. The two institutions share a long, rich history in Maryland. Alex. Brown, the nation's oldest investment banking fi rm, was founded in Baltimore in 1800—just 18 years after Washington College was established in Chestertown—and the firm maintained its headquarters in Baltimore for nearly 200 years. Following in his father's footsteps, Price joined the firm in 1952 and retired in 1996. His son Jon Price, Class of 1980, also started his career at Alex. Brown and now works for Brown Advisory and Trust. Price and the College's current Board Chair, Jay Griswold, have served as Trustees of Washington College. The gift is one of the final gifts to be matched by a $17 million Hodson Trust Endowment Challenge. The matching gift will be invested in the College's endowment, with earnings used to offset faculty compensation, speaker fees and other costs associated with this new program.
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