Community Involvement
Wall Street comes to Rowan University's Rohrer College of Business
The Rowan University Trading Room sponsored by Northwestern Mutual Financial Network. A “bell ringing” — an official unveiling — for the trading room was held on Monday, Sept. 26, at the College.
The trading room is funded by $120,000 in gifts from alumni Andy Schwartz and Scott Schwartz, twin marketing majors originally from Willingboro who graduated in 1984, and their associates, including Andrew Braun, of The Mid Atlantic Financial Group, Mt. Laurel, Managing Director.
While Sept. 26 was the official opening date, students actually have already been using the trading room located in historic Bunce Hall. There they have worked with $100,000 in real money from the William G. Rohrer Charitable Foundation in a learning environment that exposes them first hand to what it’s like to work in the stock market.
“We’ve been involved with Rowan in a very intimate way for in several years, recruiting some of their graduating seniors for positions and some of their juniors entering their senior year as interns,” said Braun, of West Chester, Pa., and a graduate of Muskingum College in Ohio, who majored in business and had three minors. “Rowan tends to attract the kind of students who do well in our profession. Those are students who are hard working, a lot of them paying their own way through school, have a solid work ethic. Bright kids, they tend to be more entrepreneurial.
He added, “I hope that the trading room is able to provide a vehicle that will allow students to get a better feel for what the trading room is like in New York, The trading room will provide them with an experience at Rowan that will enable them to be more productive and give them more insight.”
Sponsoring the trading room in addition to Braun and the Schwartz’s, who are partners in Bleakley, Dwyer, Schwartz, Cooney & Finney, LLC, Fairfield, are colleagues Jack D. Cooney and Reed Finney, of the Fairfield office; Eric Olson, The Olson Financial Group, Summit; Kevin Hassan, The Hassan Group, Philadelphia; and the Northwestern Mutual Foundation, based in Milwaukee, which matched the individuals’ gifts.
Andy Schwartz, who has served on the Rowan University Foundation board for several years and already had a history of giving to the University, spearheaded the drive to raise the funds for the trading room at his alma mater. Scott was onboard from the start.
“We thought this would be a great opportunity for the school. It’s great for the school to be able to expose their students to this, and it’s a great way for us to possibly cultivate some associates. We see the school as our sweet spot. We’re interested in smart kids who really know how to work,” Andy Schwartz said.
Scott is realistic about the value of the trading room for Rowan business students. He doesn’t expect a swarm of them to graduate and hit the stock market floor, but he hopes enough of them will be intrigued by the excitement the trading room offers to explore other avenues in financial services.
“The trading room will provide the students with more of a real-life experience. So much of college is theoretical. This is an opportunity to see the real world, watch the markets real time,” Scott said.
“Establishing a trading room was one of the priorities for the Rohrer College of Business,” said Dr. Niranjan Pati, dean. “Through Andy and Scott Schwartz and the Northwestern family our students will be able to explore hands-on opportunities that very well may impact their learning experiences and their futures.
Northwestern Mutual is a leading American life insurance company and the nation’s largest direct provider of individual life insurance. Numerous leading investment industry publications have ranked Northwestern among the Top 10 independent broker-dealers, as measured by total revenues.
American Cancer Society Relay For Life
The Mid Atlantic Financial Group supports the American Cancer Society Relay for Life.
Relay for Life is much more than a walk around a track. It is a time to remember those lost to cancer and celebrate those who have survived. It is a night for people who have shared the 
same experience to comfort and console one another. Relay gives people the power to help accelerate the Society's progress toward a future where cancer doesn't take the lives of our friends and family.
A cancer survivor's recovery involves much more than medical treatments - it takes hope to heal. By participating in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life, those touched by cancer can feel empowered to fight back against this disease.
Why doesThe Mid Atlantic Financial Group participate?
- To celebrate the lives of cancer survivors
- To remember those who have lost their battle
- To be inspired by friends, new and old
- To connect with our community
- To support those in the midst of their fight
- To do its part in the fight against cancer
