O’Malley School of Business Faculty Receive Grant for Financial Literacy Initiative

New American Colleges and Universities (NAC&U) has awarded a Collaboration, Growth, and Innovation (CGI) grant to Amira Annabi, Ph.D., assistant professor of finance, and Aileen Lowry Farrelly '95, assistant dean and accounting faculty at Manhattan College’s O’Malley School of Business.

Together, the two faculty aim to create a Center for Financial Literacy on campus that benefits Manhattan students and the wider Bronx community. They will work in collaboration with Ryan Decker, Ph.D., assistant professor of economics and finance and director of the Center for Financial Literacy at North Central College in Naperville, Ill.

North Central College established its Center for Financial Literacy last year, and Manhattan College would like to explore the feasibility of establishing a similar center at its campus. The grant will allow them to share ideas, concepts, and best practices around establishing and operating a Center for Financial Literacy.

“We believe our school’s location, near one of the poorest Congressional districts in America, along with its Lasallian mission, makes it an ideal candidate for a financial literacy center, designed to serve not only its students, but also the surrounding underserved community,” said Annabi.

In addition to launching a financial literacy initiative, the faculty hope to create an online platform with resources that will benefit both of their communities and potentially lead to additional financial literacy projects among other NAC&U institutions.

“Improving financial literacy for both on-campus populations and the greater community is aligned with NAC&U’s mission of higher education as a service to society,” said Sean Creighton, president, NAC&U. “We’re happy to support a collaboration that has the potential to be shared across our consortium and bring value to all of our members and their communities.”