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BRISTOL, R.I. – In support of academic excellence and faculty development in the Mario J. Gabelli School of Business, ��ܽ����Ƶ has received a grant of $3 million to make four matching gifts to launch endowed professorships for its business faculty.

The first endowed professorship to be announced is the Yeaton Professor of Finance, Director, Center for Advanced Financial Education (CAFE), funded through a matching gift from the family of Timothy B. Yeaton, chair of the ��ܽ����Ƶ Board of Trustees and a 1980 alumnus of the Gabelli School of Business, and his wife, Susan Yeaton. 

“My education at ��ܽ����Ƶ’s Gabelli School of Business gave me the foundation and confidence to lead a successful career as a president and CEO of multinational software and technology management companies,” said Yeaton. “The excellence of the business faculty played a large part in my professional success, and that is why my family is proud to contribute toward the first endowed professorship in finance for ��ܽ����Ƶ’s business school.” 

This endowed professorship challenge is one of the first initiatives for the new dean of the Gabelli School of Business Diya Das, who took office in June 2023, towards her vision to foster a stronger culture of faculty scholarship, academic excellence, and innovation.

“This endowed professorship recognizes the outstanding achievements of ��ܽ����Ƶ Gabelli School of Business faculty,” said Mario J. Gabelli, investor and chairman and CEO of GAMCO Investors, Inc. “Under the leadership of Dean Diya Das, the business school will continue to grow as a business education leader and support centers of excellence like their Center for Advanced Financial Education program.”

��ܽ����Ƶ Professor of Finance Michael Melton has been selected as the first recipient of the Yeaton Professor of Finance, Director, Center for Advanced Financial Education. Melton has taught finance at Roger Williams since the fall of 2003 and is the Founder and Director of ��ܽ����Ƶ’s CAFE program, an award-winning student portfolio management program.

Under Melton, the CAFE program is one of the flagship academic programs at ��ܽ����Ƶ and will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of its founding in the 2024-25 academic year.  

“The Center for Advanced Financial Education is an outstanding example of ��ܽ����Ƶ’s commitment to preparing students through real-world education and powerful combinations of learning and hands-on experiences. Dr. Michael Melton has created a groundbreaking program that makes our graduates ready for work on day one at the top Wall Street firms and global investment companies around the world,” said ��ܽ����Ƶ President Ioannis N. Miaoulis. “The Gabelli School of Business endowed professorship will be truly transformative in fostering academic excellence led by our business faculty, and we couldn’t have chosen a better place to start than with Dr. Melton and the portfolio management program.” 

Melton established the CAFE program in 2004, with the mission of teaching students to be fund managers, analysts, and traders, equipped to become leaders in the financial industry. 

“I am proud to be named the Yeaton Professor of Finance and to receive this wonderful recognition and added support of the Center for Advanced Financial Education program,” Melton said. “As we look forward to celebrating CAFE’s 20th anniversary, I am excited to continue the work of preparing our students to become the business leaders the world needs next.” 

In the CAFE program, students manage two distinct investment portfolios in real time, learning how to research, analyze and manage real-dollar investments without having to vet their decisions by an advisory board. They work five days a week inside the E.L. Wiegand Center for Advanced Financial Education, a replica of a Wall Street trading room that boasts state-of-the-art investment management technology and 24-7 connectivity to stock information and world news. The program has won several portfolio management awards, including two national collegiate championships. International educational experiences are embedded in the program, and students have presented their methodology to CEOs and CFOs at global financial institutions around the world, from Tokyo to Hong Kong, Dubai, Shanghai, Frankfurt, Greece, and London. 

��ܽ����Ƶ will announce additional endowed professorships at the Gabelli School of Business in the years ahead.