10 JULY / AUGUST 2020 COVER STORY College-Level Banking Studies For the next generation of bankers In the fall of last year, Purdue University Northwest officially became the first college in Indiana to implement a curriculum in banking. The curriculum was developed in partnership with the Indiana Bankers Association and several IBA-member banks as a way to combat the growing talent shortage in the banking industry. The idea of establishing banking studies in Indiana’s higher education institutions was first advocated by 2018 IBA Chairman Clay Ewing, president of German American Bank, Jasper. As Ewing said in a Hoosier Banker interview, this initiative was inspired by his own experience: “Ironically, I did not originally choose banking as a career path. When I graduated from college, we had a family business, but it wasn’t really what I wanted to do. My degree was in accounting, and I was interested in finding something along those lines.” After working in the accounting department of a food service company for a short time, Ewing secured a job at Citizens National Bank in his hometown of Tell City. “The aim [of the initiative] is to show young adults that banking is a wonderful career – it is rewarding personally, professionally and financially,” Ewing said. “The more exposure we can provide, the more we can bring in talent to help resolve the succession challenges that many community banks face.” After hearing about Ewing’s initiative at an IBA regional meeting in the summer of 2018, Anthony Contrucci, vice president of community and business development of Centier Bank, Merrillville, was eager to discuss the idea with Matthew Wells, a contact at Purdue University Northwest. What started as a casual conversation over coffee quickly turned into a serious meeting. Soon enough, other stakeholders such as college faculty, bankers and representatives of the IBA got involved to start developing the program. To Contrucci, engaging young people in the banking industry is of the utmost importance to the future of the industry. “I am a passionate community banker and want to ensure that hometown community banking is preserved for generations to come,” he said. “My hope is that these banking-focused programs will help to redefine our industry’s brand and create much-needed awareness around the opportunities that exist.” Within about 10 months, all the necessary groundwork had been laid to introduce the university’s brand-new banking concentration for the 2019-20 school year. “All said and done, it went rather smoothly,” said Wells, who serves as the executive director of strategic partnerships, engagement and legislative liaison at Purdue University Northwest. “It was a refreshing thing for us because in academia, we’re not exactly known for how quickly we move on things. We had a really core, committed group of faculty that was eager and open to work with folks from the banking industry to make sure that the curriculum aligned with what they needed.” The program started small, offering a banking Emily Brooks Member Engagement Specialist Indiana Bankers Association ebrooks@indiana.bank Banking Minors Building on the success of the banking concentration program, Ball State University and Purdue University Northwest are introducing banking minors this fall. Read more on page 13.
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