At the latest event in collaboration with Theodore’s Books, Bernadette Castro, former New York State parks commissioner, hosted a robust discussion about Theodore Roosevelt and Rick Marschall’s new book release, “The Most Interesting American.” Audience members included students from Portledge School, community members and a very compelling Theodore Roosevelt impersonator.
Baseball and Cheer Teams Promote Inclusion
The basketball team recently hosted The League of Yes, an organization committed to creating and sustaining basketball programs for people of all ages with disabilities, for a day of fun and activities. The cheerleading team was on-site, providing enthusiastic support and encouragement to all participants.
Establishing First-Ever Financial Health Course To Economically Empower Students
JPMorgan Chase Also Providing $350K To Support Financial Coaching and Scholarships for Students
October 10, 2023 – Today, the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment at Long Island University (LIU) and JPMorgan Chase announced a new partnership to establish the school’s first-ever financial health course for the 2023-24 academic year. The partnership aims to help nearly 150 students establish strong money management skills and build a strong financial future.
As part of the collaboration, JPMorgan Chase will also provide $115,000 to the University’s Hope Scholarship program, which supports high-achieving students with financial need. JPMorgan Chase’s investment will contribute to the School’s Hope Scholarship program, which provides a tuition-free education for 25 percent of incoming students annually.
“At JPMorgan Chase, we’re proud to partner with LIU’s Roc Nation School, breaking down financial barriers for college students in Brooklyn. Together, we’re providing the essential resources and support our future leaders need to shape their career and financial futures,” said Diedra Porché, managing director, head of Community and Business Development, Chase.
The three-credit, 16-week course at LIU’s Brooklyn campus includes a series of workshops on topics ranging from money management to credit building to homebuying and fraud/scam prevention. The course will also feature special guest speakers, including UCLA football standout Chase Griffin, New York Giants legend Victor Cruz and JPMorgan Chase leadership, sharing their insights and advice for academic, career and personal success. Additionally, the firm will also host financial health events for course participants at the Chase Community Center in Harlem.
“It’s absolutely vital that we equip our students with a versatile array of tools and resources to thrive both inside and outside the classroom,” Roc Nation CEO Desiree Perez said. “With the addition of JPMorgan Chase’s financial health course, students will be poised to make stronger and more informed financial decisions in a way that can profoundly shape the trajectory of their lives and careers.”
The financial health workshops will be led by JPMorgan Chase’s five Brooklyn-based community managers, who work across the borough with a particular focus on Crown Heights, Kings Highway, Williamsburg, Borough Park and Flatbush. The team is part of the firm’s $30 billion Racial Equity Commitment to drive inclusive economic growth in Brooklyn and around the country.
Beyond the classroom, supported through a $220,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase, the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment is participating in the Money Smart Financial Coaching Program, created by Westchester Community College and replicated by the National Council for Workforce Education (NCWE). Through this grant, the School will receive technical assistance from NCWE to ensure they build a successful, sustainable program that helps students establish healthy financial behaviors. The financial coaching is proven to increase student’s uninterrupted school attendance, resulting in higher graduation rates and other positive student outcomes, and to increase lifelong financial health. In the first year, the School will provide individualized financial coaching to 90 students.
“As part of our commitment to and investment in New York City, we are embedding financial literacy into the Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment curriculum for the first time and enabling students to take charge of their economic future while earning credits toward graduation, gaining critical career skills and receiving financial coaching,” said Jason Patton, Northeast Divisional Director for Community and Business Development, Chase. “We are excited to embark on this work with such a great partner and bring the full force of our firm to the collegiate setting and support these future leaders on their financial journeys.”
The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment, which launched in 2020, prepares students for an array of careers across entrepreneurship, music, sports business, management and more to help students graduate with immersive internship experience and a robust network of professional contacts.
“Together, we are committed to delivering diverse and robust experiences that will serve as the foundation for our students’ successful careers and financial futures,” said Tressa Cunningham, Dean of Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment. “Through this collaborative effort, the JPMorgan Chase team will help provide the next generation of professionals with the knowledge, foundation and opportunities to excel personally and professionally.”
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About JPMorgan Chase
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $3.2 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
About The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment
The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment at Long Island University (LIU) is a globally renowned destination for world-class education, exceptional career development, cultural initiatives and philanthropic endeavors. The school prepares students for a wide range of careers in entrepreneurship, music, sports business, management, performance and more with an esteemed faculty inclusive of university professors, adjunct leaders as well as special guest lecturers.
The Roc Nation School of Music, Sports & Entertainment, which began enrolling students at LIU in Fall 2021, leverages its versatile resources and expertise to help students graduate with immersive internship experience and develop a robust network of professional contacts. Located in Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter’s hometown of Brooklyn, the school also provides Roc Nation Hope Scholarships to 25 percent of enrolled students, which enables them to graduate debt-free. The Hope Scholars are also selected from a pool of academically competitive, New York-based, first-time freshmen with the highest need.
Ray Dalio ’71 Speaks to Students About Success
When he arrived on September 19th, it had been 52 years since Ray Dalio ’71 had walked on Long Island University’s Post campus. As a cool fall breeze and sunny skies welcomed him back, it felt to Dalio like he had never left.
Even though the tree under which he studied was still firmly rooted, Dalio himself has soared since his time as an undergraduate student. In the five decades since he received his bachelor’s degree in business from LIU, Ray Dalio has become a hugely successful entrepreneur, investor and author. He is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the fifth most important company in the United States (Fortune magazine) and the largest hedge fund in the world. He has appeared on the Time magazine 100 list of most influential people in the world and the Forbes 100 list of the world’s wealthiest. He is the author of three #1 New York Times bestsellers. The university was honored to have Ray return to share his story and his principles for success with the next generation of LIU students.
To a packed audience of over 500 current students, in his humble manner and colloquial tone, Dalio began his talk by sharing, “You have no idea how special it is for me to be here.”
Dalio went on to describe his experience at LIU Post, which was “the first school that I liked.” The pivot from a high school education of rote lecturing to a university experience with dynamic discussions and learning opportunities was transformative. “It was first time I could pick subjects that interested me. And then I had these incredible professors.
I liked the whole freedom of the place. It inspired and excited me.”
After receiving his MBA from Harvard Business School, Dalio took his affinity for the markets and his excitement for new challenges and put them to work. In 1975, he launched Bridgewater Associates from his two-bedroom New York City apartment.
His talk could have ended there, with a hugely successful company that, at its pinnacle, managed over $150 billion. But Dalio does not believe in glossing over the difficult times. Instead, he takes his time to emphasize his missteps and shortcomings, to impress upon his young audience that mistakes are the most essential steps to achieving success.
For Dalio, failure—and then learning from failure—is more important than success. He concedes that a correct decision will move a business forward. However, without failure, stakeholders will not learn and grow from the insights gained. It was from one very public mistake and its resulting wisdom that Dalio’s “principles” were born.
Dalio breaks it down for the young attendees: success is a five-step process. At the beginning of the journey—or “adventure,” as Ray describes it—the first step is to establish “audacious goals.” On the road to accomplishing those goals, obstacles are encountered and mistakes are made. After reflecting on those failures and getting to their root causes, one needs to design and then execute a plan to improve. Repeat, and then repeat again.
Ray credits these systemized principles for enabling him to take Bridgewater from a two-bedroom apartment to the largest hedge fund in the world. He views principles as very individualized—what works for one will not service another. So, he encourages students to derive their own principles from their own failures, to write them down, to improve, and to continue the cycle to achieve more and more audacious goals.
Dalio uses himself as a case study of how failure can create a principle. In a very public manner, Ray made a strong prediction about the US economy in 1982—and was completely wrong. Dalio and Bridgewater suffered reputationally and financially as a result. “I was so broke, I had to borrow $4,000 from my dad.” Ray took the difficult experience, analyzed and learned from it, and acquired the understanding that PAIN + REFLECTION = PROGRESS.
Dalio endeavored to be more open minded, viewing the pain as a puzzle. By solving it, he would develop a principle he could use to deal with reality in a better way. To avoid the pain of being wrong again, he embraced the concept of idea meritocracy, where independent thinkers could challenge his ideas to develop the best answers. Combined with his theory of “radical transparency,” where honest dialogue and thoughtful disagreement would give rise to the optimal decisions, Dalio created a brand-new office culture. The results are hard to deny; Bridgewater now boasts 1,500 employees and a reputation of honesty and integrity that is unmatched in the business.
These days, Ray is still taking “adventures” and learning from mistakes, but with new goals in mind. Since retiring from Bridgewater in 2022, Dalio’s focus now is on his family, his philanthropy, and sharing his principles for success with others.
From Brookville to Bridgewater to benefactor, Ray’s principles have guided him on an incredible adventure, one that he could not have envisioned as an undergraduate student at LIU. Before the students left the Krasnoff Theater to receive a copy of Dalio’s bestselling book, Principles: Life and Work, generously donated by Ray, he emphasized to his audience that money should not be what drives them to succeed. “The important thing is that you have the life that you want to have….Consider success in the broader sense: meaningful work and meaningful relationships. I don’t think there’s one right path to success.”
LIU Football QB Goes Viral
Chris Howell, the Sharks’ left-handed quarterback, went viral this week with his unconventional throwing style. The news made headlines in The Athletic, New York Daily News and other media outlets.
National Science Foundation Grant Empowers Student Success in Computer Science
A $750,000 grant from the National Science Foundation will fund the Cultivating Academic Success in Computing (CASC) project to foster student achievement and produce enhanced workforce development. The grant will allocate resources for individuals who are considered disadvantaged first-generation students, with a focus on improving graduation rates and preparing students for both immediate and sustained success in the workforce.
Fighting Parkinson’s with The Michael J. Fox Foundation
Long Island University is teaming up with The Michael J. Fox Foundation to develop a revolutionary app that would help improve speech intelligibility for individuals suffering from Parkinson’s disease. The “Understand Me for Life” app aims to help speakers with Parkinson’s disease monitor changes in their speech intelligibility over time, improving their ability to effectively communicate and foster their independence during their treatment. Dr. Gemma Moya-Galé, assistant professor in LIU’s department of communication sciences and disorders, is serving as the principal investigator for the three-year project.
Faculty Member Authors NYT Article on Child Anxiety
Camilo Ortiz, associate professor of psychology, recently coauthored a guest essay in The New York Times with Lenore Skenazy. The opinion piece outlined the coorelation between over protection by parents and child anxiety, and recommended simple solutions to assist young children in gaining more independence. Read the article here.
MPA Program Recognized for Social Equity
LIU’s master’s of public administration department (MPA) is the winner of this year’s NASPAA Social Equity Award. Distributed by the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration, this award recognizes a department or program that exemplifies the highest standards of promoting and supporting social equity in reseach, teaching and service.
LIU Professor Assists NGO Development
Dr. Bakry Elmedni (center), associate professor of public policy and administration, traveled to Turkmenistan this summer to train civil society activists on how to start and manage a non-governmental organization (NGO) in a country that does not provide a friendly environment for civil society organizations. His visit was celebrated by the US embassy in Ashgabat and the Fulbright team at the US State Department.