MEDIA RESOURCES

SMU TO ESTABLISH FINANCIAL REPORTING PROGRAMS
AND FACULTY POSITIONS

DALLAS (SMU) — The Cox School of Business and the Journalism Division of the Meadows School of the Arts at SMU will develop cooperative programs in financial reporting through funding from William J. O’Neil, chairman and CEO of Investor’s Business Daily.

The Cox School of Business will establish the William J. O’Neil Center for Business and Financial Reporting and the William J. O’Neil Chair in Business and Financial Reporting. The center will develop a new B.B.A. major in business and financial reporting with a strong emphasis on finance and accounting. This is one of only a few such programs at schools of business in the United States. The holder of the endowed chair will oversee the development of this program.

Under the B.B.A. program in business and financial reporting, students will pursue the same curriculum as that for the existing B.B.A. program, with courses in areas such as accounting, economics, management and marketing. They also will take upper level courses in accounting, finance, financial statement analysis and business journalism.

In the Meadows School of the Arts, the Division of Journalism will establish the William J. O’Neil Chair in Business Journalism. The division will offer a concentration in business journalism for journalism students, as well as journalism courses for business students. It also will sponsor guest lectures in business journalism and scholarships for journalism students.

“Dallas is one of the nation’s leading business centers and media markets, and SMU plays a major role in educating leaders in both fields,” said SMU President R. Gerald Turner. “Collaboration between business and journalism education at SMU will benefit the corporate world and the media industry and will prepare professionals to succeed in both arenas. Bill O’Neil’s generous support will provide tremendous impetus to this partnership.”

O’Neil, who lives in Los Angeles, is the founder and chairman of William O’Neil and Company, the institutional investment research firm that compiled the world’s first daily securities database in 1963. Today it is one of the largest and most comprehensive stock market databases in the world and is used by more than 400 of the largest banks, mutual funds, and insurance companies. O’Neil launched Investor’s Business Daily in 1984. He also is the author of How to Make Money in Stocks and hosts seminars on his CAN SLIM method of investment.

O’Neil graduated from SMU in 1955 with a B.B.A. degree in marketing. He received the Distinguished Alumni Award of the Cox School of Business in 1998. While a student at SMU, he was president of Delta Sigma Phi fraternity and a member of the varsity baseball team and the Mustang Band. His wife, Fay O’Neil, also attended SMU.

“In today’s business environment, corporations need media-savvy leaders equipped not only to respond to public scrutiny, but also to proactively communicate about corporate realities and challenges,” said Al Niemi, dean of the Cox School of Business. “Whether the interested publics are stockholders or reporters, they are questioning business operations as never before and expecting solid answers. As a leader in business education, Cox feels a responsibility to provide students with this specialized communications expertise.”

Carole Brandt, dean of the Meadows School of the Arts, said the gift allows Meadows “to establish an exciting new partnership with the Cox School. Our Division of Journalism has accomplished a great deal in the past few years thanks to a major gift from the Belo Foundation and support from dedicated alumni and friends. We will now be able to take another significant step in establishing one of the top journalism programs in the country.”

CONTACT:

Andrea Hugg, Director of Strategic Marketing SMU Cox School of Business PO Box 750333 Dallas, TX 75275 214.768.4474 Phone 214.768.3331 Fax ahugg@mail.cox.smu.edu