Burkenroad Reports wins top teaching award

Tulane University’s Burkenroad Reports won top honors this week for best teaching delivery in the prestigious Wharton-QS Stars Awards, an international competition recognizing innovative approaches in higher education that enhance learning and student employability.

The program, within the A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University, gives students practical stock analysis experience by covering traditionally overlooked small-cap companies in the Gulf South. Each year 200 students meet top management, visit company sites and publish investment research reports on 40 “stocks under rocks” in six states.

“This is an amazing recognition of the work we have been doing for the past 21 years,” said Peter Ricchiuti, Burkenroad Reports founder and director. “It is particularly meaningful because it celebrates both the creativity of the program and its results in developing strong, well-prepared students. Burkenroad Reports has sent about 600 students off to careers in the investment field.”

Hancock Bank manages a mutual fund based on the program. It has over $750 million in assets and has outperformed about 99 percent of the nation's nearly 7,000 equity mutual funds, Ricchiuti said.

“The investment community has praised the research excellence of Burkenroad Reports for years, but I don’t think as many people realize it’s also a unique and innovative educational program,” said Freeman School Dean Ira Solomon. “I’m very pleased to see Peter and his staff receive this well-deserved national recognition for developing and executing a truly outstanding educational program.”

The Wharton-QS Stars Awards took place on Dec. 9 in Philadelphia. The competition, developed by the Wharton School SEI Center of the University of Pennsylvania and QS Quacquarelli Symonds, publisher of the QS World University Rankings, received submissions from 427 universities and enterprises from 43 countries. It included 21 awards judged by a panel of 25 international experts. A list of winners is available at http://www.reimagine-education.com.

For more information on Burkenroad Reports, visit http://www.burkenroad.org.