By Breanna Hoffner

SPRING ‘22 sees the addition of the risk management minor to the already existing 23 minors offered at the Graham School of Business. According to the YCP website, “the minor teaches students how to identify, manage, and forecast risks faced by both individuals and businesses.”

The new minor requires 15 credit hours for completion. This minor has excited both students and faculty alike with many speaking highly of its potential influence on the School of Business and its students. 

Nick Delener, dean of the Graham School of Business, worked hand-in-hand with sponsor Anthony P. Campisi to establish the minor. When speaking of its addition, Delener stated, “Every decision we make has risk – we fail because we do not teach risk management”. 

At the moment, the Graham School is working to promote the major. They are doing this through the dean’s newsletter and the YCP website. 

Dr. Pawan Madhogarhia, associate professor of finance, was willing to answer several questions regarding the new addition to the Graham School. As for the development, Madhogarhia stated that the program was proposed by Dean Delener and syllabuses for courses were drafted accordingly. 

Only one course had existed prior to the creation of the minor: FIN 330 (Risk Management and Insurance). Other than the already existing course, four new courses make up the minor: 

            RMI 335: Corporate Risk Management

            RMI 340: Employee Benefits and Social Insurance

            RMI 345: Individual Risk Management

            RMI 350: Legal Issues in Risk Management

According to Delener, these classes will utilize resources in the NASDAQ Trading Lab and will be taught through a “practitioner’s perspective.” These classes focus on several aspects: management, insurance, law, and finance. Students will be taught “terminology, techniques, management strategies, and much more,” he said.

When asked what jobs he believed students with the minor could achieve, Madhogarhia mentioned “insurance, probability and causality, life insurance, disability/health insurance, enterprise risk management, human resources (employee benefits) are all positions that one could acquire with a minor in risk management.”

Madhogarhia added it is mostly forecasted that finance majors will pick up this minor, with maybe some Economics and Accounting majors showing interest as well. 

“While not a necessity, risk management is an integral part of finance,” Madhogarhia said.

In addition to Finance majors, another group has taken interest in the new minor are cybersecurity management majors. Nevin Ferry and Conner Everett are two freshmen Cybersecurity Management majors who have taken a keen interest in the subject and intend on declaring it in the future. 

Everett has already worked the minor into his four-year college schedule saying, “There is a lot of risk in cybersecurity and computer-related fields as threats and technologies evolve. By assessing those risks and trying to eliminate as many as possible, we will be able to be more secure.

“In addition, risk management can be applied to all fields, and personally, I think many majors should consider taking it as a minor.”

Tanner Donivan, a senior finance major, was passionate in speaking about the topic. “I am very ecstatic about the addition of this minor,” he said. “This establishes that York College is committed to equipping their graduates with as much ammo [knowledge] as possible and that students have the chance to pick a superb opportunity for their future.” 

Donivan said he is aware of freshmen who have expressed interest in the minor. He’s excited by that prospect. “I am glad they are showing so much interest early in their schooling,” he said. “I think their interest will allow the ball to get rolling fast for the new minor and pave some of the way for how the minor will be utilized in the future. 

In fact, he said that if he could turn the clock back to his freshman year, he would have done that same thing. “I am utterly jealous that the underclassmen are able to choose this as their minor because of the weight it holds in the finance industry,” he said. “Risk management is also such a cool, fun, and unique space that has not been explored in great detail while in college. I feel like this is a minor that will allow students to really stand out and that is something I wish I could utilize and add to my skill set during an interview or even just in general.”

For those who are graduating or have graduated and did not have a chance to pick up the minor, another option is available through the Anthony P. Campisi Risk Management program. A certificate for those who have already graduated is available. This certification will have students take the above courses mentioned at the same cost as tuition. Delener noted that the certificate will help with future licenses needed in the field. 

Delener said that comparing York College to other schools, “I would put us in the top category with this minor, especially in the region.”

If interested in the minor or wanting to learn more about it you can find details about the minor here: https://www.ycp.edu/academics/graham-school-of-business/programs/risk-management/

Breanna Hoffner is a senior majoring in Marketing and minoring in creative writing and professional writing.