Among the new initiatives that will find homes in Tangen Hall—set to open in the fall of 2020—are two that will ensure Wharton remains the leader in finance research and education. For the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance, made possible by founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Holdings Group Ross Stevens W91, programming is under way: This past spring, it hosted a roundtable of fintech leaders (including Jackie Reses W92 and alumnus David Klein, CEO of CommonBond). This fall, the center will offer research projects for teams of students, faculty, and industry pros. “Some fintech you can teach in a classroom, but for others, you have to engage with the real world,” says finance professor and Stevens Center faculty director David Musto.
With the alts space rapidly changing, the Joshua J. Harris Alternative Investments Program will pursue cutting-edge research and connect students with the latest trends. “Alumni knowledge and their position in the industry is our biggest strength,” says Bilge Yilmaz, private equity professor and faculty director of the program, which was made possible by Apollo Global Management co-founder and senior managing director Josh Harris W86 and his wife, Marjorie. “The classes are rigorously pragmatic, because alumni share ideas about what’s happening in the industry.”
Professor Sarah Hammer WG99 L11, senior director of the program and managing director of the center, says that both stand at the forefront of finance. “With the Harris Program, we think of three pillars—students, alumni, and research,” she says. “The same can be said for the Stevens Center. There’s nothing else like it in the world.”
Published as “Still the ‘Finance School’” in the Fall/Winter 2019 issue of Wharton Magazine.
