UConn Today – UConn’s excellence in graduate education is being recognized nationwide, with U.S. News & World Report granting high rankings for 2026 to several online programs for their quality, affordability, and flexibility for distance-learning students.
Finance
Two Ambitious UConn Grad Students Win Top Prizes in National Insurance Competition Focused on Pet-Care Policies
UConn Today – Two UConn graduate students took home the first-place and runner-up awards in the ACORD Student Challenge, an insurance-industry competition that drew dozens of participants from across the country.
Manasa Ramaka, a graduate student in the Business Analytics and Project Management (BAPM) program, took first place and accepted the $5,000 grand prize. Rutendo Mahanzu, a graduate student enrolled in the Financial and Enterprise Risk Management (FERM) program, shared the runner-up prize with a student from Georgia Tech, and took home a $2,000 award.
UConn Real Estate Students Take Top Prize in ‘Future of Housing’ Competition at Boston College
UConn Today – UConn Real Estate students took first-place in a national ‘future of housing’ competition, presenting a detailed proposal for a 42-unit residential building, with a commercial kitchen and computer center, that would allow residents to participate in workforce development and cooking and nutritional courses.
UConn Business Students Place in Top Three at BU Case Competition
UConn Today – A dream team with great chemistry, months of brainstorming, research and practice, and a well-executed presentation helped five UConn Case Club teammates finish in the Top 3 in the prestigious Boston University Questrom 50K Sustainability Case Competition.
Risk Management Experts Highlight the Need for Young Talent During Two-Day Business Event
UConn Today – The School of Business hosted its first ‘Risk Manager on Campus Event,’ a two-day program to encourage students to consider careers in the growing fields of risk management and insurance.
The event included panel discussions, classroom visits, and an opportunity for students to network with some top leadership in the field. Many of the speakers highlighted the risk industry’s need for young talent.
UConn, Connecticut Wealth Management Launch New Program to Prepare Future Financial Advisers
UConn Today – Connecticut Wealth Management (CTWM), a prominent investment adviser based in Farmington, has partnered with the School of Business to launch the school’s first-ever student wealth management cohort.
The program, which officially debuted on Thursday, Oct. 2, has already drawn interest from 110 students eager to learn more about becoming financial advisors. The wealth management field is growing rapidly and expected to bring double-digit job growth over the next decade.
Real Estate Professor Cohen: Study Confirms that Properties Adjacent to Tornado Destruction Initially Plunge in Value
UConn Today – The power of a tornado can inflict tremendous damage on residential property, but the impact is also felt by nearby homeowners, even when their property is unscathed.
Undamaged homes in close proximity to those that were partially or fully destroyed incur up to a 39% decline in value, according to finance and real estate professor Jeffrey P. Cohen, associate economist Violeta A. Gutkowski, and research associate Jack Fuller. Their findings were released in a recent economic report by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, where Cohen is a Research Fellow.
Ask the Experts – Kristen Haseney
Wallethub – Homeownership isn’t for everyone. Roughly 46 million American households have opted to rent rather than buy their homes because of convenience, cost or both. But renting isn’t always a cheaper or better alternative to owning a property. The right road to take depends on a variety of factors, including an individual’s or family’s financial means and how well the local real-estate market is doing.
Ask the Experts – Fred V. Carstensen
Wallethub – The best choice for insurance, whether auto or life, is a mutual company. That is a consideration equally as important as the cost–perhaps more so. In a mutual insurance company, like top-rated Geico, as a policyholder you are also an owner. This aligns the incentives for the insurer to give good, reliable coverage.
Commencement Speaker: Servant Leadership Distinguishes Top Companies, Stellar Executives from the Rest
UConn Today – Alumnus Rich Eldh ’81, an entrepreneur who created a $300 million global research and advisory firm, told business undergraduates that servant leadership is one of the most important, and misinterpreted, components of business success.
“Servant leadership means leading with strength, for the benefit of others,’’ he told more than 700 graduates, their family and friends, during the Commencement ceremony on Saturday at Gampel Pavilion. “It means empowering your team, fostering growth, and creating environments where others can shine.’’