Nobel Laureate Visits UNC Charlotte to Celebrate 20 Years of ‘Remarkable’ Mathematical Finance Program

UNC Charlotte recognized 20 years of the nationally-ranked Mathematical Finance program with Nobel laureate Robert C. Merton helping to mark the occasion.

“I want to commend the remarkable achievement of the Mathematical Finance program,” Merton told the audience of 225+ at The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City. “I say remarkable not lightly. Establishing in less than one-quarter of a century the rankings, the development and the support that you have in this program may look easy to those who don’t know, but it’s a very difficult thing to do from scratch. You should take great pride and pleasure in this.”

The program was born two decades ago with support particularly from Bank of America and Wachovia, which later integrated into Wells Fargo. Cultivating corporate involvement and adapting curriculum to emerging needs have been essential to ensuring the program delivers the talent Charlotte needs, said Belk College of Business Dean Richard Buttimer.

“Our program’s interdisciplinary core has been critical to its versatility and its responsiveness,” Buttimer said. “The collective knowledge we have in economics, finance and mathematics and statistics in the Belk College and in the Klein College of Science continues to prepare our graduates to thrive in the rapidly evolving quantitative world.”

The emphasis of the two colleges on excellence in academics, research and engagement with employers has advanced the vitality of the Charlotte region, particularly in the nation’s second largest financial and banking center.

“The Klein College of Science and our Mathematics and Statistics Department are focused on shaping the future of scientific discovery,” said college Founding Dean Bernadette Donovan-Merkert. “We cultivate a spirit of inquiry that our graduates take into their careers, many of them in Charlotte.”

Attendees at the celebration tapped into their own spirits of inquiry, as Merton — a founder of modern finance and risk management — discussed a growing global and local challenge. Households today hold greater responsibility than in the past for decisions about retirement funding and associated risks. Yet, they often don’t have the knowledge or tools they need, Merton said. People and organizations need to shift their thinking and their approaches, he said.