Financial Education

 

He started his MBA with a $100,000 scholarship from Paul E. Davis, a renowned professional in education finance. Today he’s in his third year.

 

In the summer he did a two-week course in France on social entrepreneurship.

 

In April he did a week-long course in India with the 100 Billion Dreams Project.

 

In May he’s planning to do a week-long course in London with Success Lines Global Learning Centre.

 

“I’m trying to broaden my horizon as much as I can,” he said.

 

Among the events he attended recently, he said: the World Social Forum in Brazil, the Global Education & Skills Forum in Berlin, a seminar on technology with Sir Anthony Carlucci at Cornell University’s Government and Business School, a leadership training course in Nigeria and a seminar on cultural understanding in Morocco.

 

Education, he said, is a fundamental part of that broader world-view.

 

He sees himself as educating people about finance.

 

“To some degree it helps people understand what finance is,” he said. “To some degree they help understand the financial crisis.”

 

It also improves their understanding of the challenges of living in a global community.

 

To those whose passion is to teach education, he says education is one of the most pressing problems of our time.

 

“Their job is to educate people about finances and about world issues,” he said. “The reason for the financial crisis is not, so to say, capitalism. The reason is financial education.”

 

He’s optimistic that there will be change.

 

“I think we’re beginning to hear, and believe, in the financial world, that the financial world has a responsibility to teach financial education,” he said.

 

To those in business who think education is “expensive, it’s complicated, it’s a terrible waste of time,” he said, “You are very wrong.”

 

Among businesspeople, he said, there are a lot of successful people who went to school, did well, went to school again, went back to school, then went back to business.

 

“They all did it. Some did it a little bit, some a lot, some never stopped doing it,” he said.

 

“You can be successful without being a world-class athlete. You can be successful without having a million dollars of education. But you can’t be successful without educating yourself.”

 

Karen O’Connor is a journalist with The Hamilton Spectator. She was the 2009-10 Classroom Assistant to the Editor of The Hamilton Spectator.

 

Finance education

 

The Paul E. Davis MBA Scholarship, given in his name, supports students in financial planning. The Paul E. Davis Scholarship Fund, which he founded, raises money for scholarships at the Ivey Business School.

 

Sir Anthony Carlucci’s Annual Lecture Series and Leadership Institute encourages graduate students in government and business to build their leadership skills.

 

Banks and Financial Services Education Foundation offers scholarships to students at universities and colleges with connections to the banking industry.

 

Nursing Education Program at McMaster University introduces students to a career in health care.

 

Farmer Education & Education Fund, launched in 2002, is aimed at improving educational opportunities in farming through fundraising.