Macklin Foundation Makes $1.22 Million Donation to Montgomery College to Fund New Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Business Institute Finance Lab

Montgomery College Macklin Business Institute (MBI) students will soon have access to an educational finance lab designed to give them the real world, real time experience employers are seeking in today’s competitive job market. Students will utilize financial software used in investment banks, brokerage houses and hedge funds on Wall Street. This extraordinary opportunity for students in a community college setting is made possible through a $1.22 million donation from the Macklin Foundation.

The Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Business Institute Finance Lab will be located on Montgomery College’s (MC) Rockville Campus. Gordon Macklin was the founder and CEO of NASDAQ. Both he and his wife were instrumental in establishing the MBI program at MC in 1999. The Macklin Foundation has included in its commitment a matching challenge to fuel additional support for the finance lab.

Montgomery College will be the only two-year institution in Maryland that offers this level of economic and financial education with the addition of the new Macklin Finance Lab.

“We are proud to partner once again with Montgomery College to further enhance the experiential learning opportunities for MBI students,” said Donald Dawn, president of The Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Foundation Inc. and nephew of the late Gordon Macklin. “While finance labs are exceedingly common at four-year universities, they are almost nonexistent up to this point at the community college level.”

The near completion of the new Student Services Building on the Rockville Campus is expected to open space in the College’s Macklin Tower for the design and construction of the MBI Finance Lab.

Dawn adds, “As a result, the MBI Finance Lab will provide a one of a kind experience for MBI students, enhance the MBI students’ readiness for four-year universities by learning key software platforms and business terms and concepts, and maybe most importantly, help them to determine which of the many business disciplines they may wish to pursue in their subsequent academic and business careers.”

Modeled on similar programs at top business schools across the country, the space will feature an online financial analysis platform tool, individual workstations with industry-utilized technology, and stock market tickers (Please see the attached rendering). A critical component of the lab will be finance and business simulation software that will lead to relevant industry certifications, credentials, and badges for students.

“Montgomery College is thrilled with this extraordinary gift from the Macklin Foundation, which will transform student learning opportunities,” said MC President DeRionne Pollard. “The Marilyn and Gordon Macklin Finance Lab will undoubtedly increase the quality of our students’ academic experiences within the Macklin Business Institute by providing them with real time, hands-on professional applications from the finance industry. The Lab will also empower our faculty with high-tech teaching tools, thus amplifying their capacity to train the next generation of diverse, talented business leaders.”

The lab simulations will lead to additional credentialing, including badging, which will further differentiate these students in the marketplace and demonstrate their achievements in the program. Students will also spend time learning how to research and analyze extensive data for use in accounting, economics, and/or other business-related coursework.

“Not only do we get to experience realistic applications of our studies, but the finance lab also demands leadership skills and teamwork,” said Michael Whiteman, a first-year MBI Student. “Furthermore, we can earn badges that appear on our LinkedIn profiles, showing employers that we are what they are looking for in their company.”

Said MBI second-year student, Enid Diaz, “As an MBI student, I love that the new finance lab provides the opportunity to not only earn credentials for potential jobs, but to also provide us with the same experience that four-year university business students are able to get. This is a great opportunity that most community college students don’t get.”

The Gordon and Marilyn Macklin Business Institute (MBI) at Montgomery College provides innovative, high quality business educational opportunities to the residents of Montgomery County. The focused programs in the Institute are designed to provide students with the education needed in the world of business today.

“Gordon and Marilyn would be very proud to see how MBI has continued to improve student business readiness by the incorporation of key technology into its experiential learning curriculum,” Dawn said.