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Interactive alumni CMU trustee
John G. Kulhavi donates $50,000 for research room
When a College of Business Administration dean asked John G. Kulhavi, ’65, to join a CBA advisory council 10 years ago, Kulhavi had one question.
“To what do I owe this honor?”
Former dean Terry Arndt, sitting in Kulhavi’s Farmington Hills Merrill Lynch office, replied, “Because you are an esteemed CBA alum.”
Kulhavi said he wasn’t a CBA graduate – he majored in psychology and minored in biology and chemistry – but he was glad to be asked.
“Before Terry, my only involvement with CMU was attending a few sporting events,” Kulhavi said. “I told Terry if he’d still have me, I’d enjoy being a part of the committee.”
Kulhavi has since made several contributions to the different colleges on campus, including a $50,000 donation to the College of Business Administration. The gift helped create the state-of-the-art Kulhavi Investment Research Room, which was completed in January.
‘Like a trading room floor’
The interactive class includes three 50-inch plasma screen televisions, all with laptop portals, an eight-speaker sound system, a projector screen that recesses into the ceiling, and a home computer that controls the four output stations.
Finance and Law Professor Jim Felton puts CNBC’s stock market analysis on one television while he has live Nasdaq stock numbers from yahoo.com on the projector screen.
“Teaching in this room is like being on a trading room floor,” Felton said of the Kulhavi room. “John Kulhavi donated that money to create an investment atmosphere for the students.”
Todd Carey, a senior majoring in finance, said the class has a professional atmosphere. “There is so much to take in. It doesn’t feel like class, it is more like a business meeting,” he said.
Kulhavi, who started working for Merrill Lynch in 1969, believes learning in a business-like setting is important. Kulhavi now is a senior vice president for Merrill Lynch.
College of Business Administration Dean D. Michael Fields said the room is a great recruiting tool.
“This room sets our College of Business Administration apart,” Fields said. “We are very grateful to John for the gift. He is a wonderful supporter of the college of business and of CMU.”
Kulhavi currently serves as vice chair of the CMU Board of Trustees. He earlier served a tenure as chair. He also established the College of Humanities and Social and Behavioral Services neuroscience professorship, served on the CMU Development Board, and is active in Central’s ROTC program.
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