History of the University of Rhode Island College of Business Administration

Keith Moore 1971-74 B.S in Finance 1998-2004 Ph.D. in Business Administration Keith was a fun person to talk to for this project. He received his BS in the 1974 but came back to URI in pursuit of the Ph.D. because of the great experiences he had as an undergraduate. A degree in finance seemed like the natural choice for someone who had worked on the New York Stock Exchange over his summers and vacations before college.

A large number of freshmen change their majors after they get to URI but Keith knew that this was the program for him.

During his undergraduate he had met many lifelong friends and had some very excellent professors. Over the years he kept in touch with a number of people in the College so it made sense to come back to URI for doctoral work. Keith also enjoyed teaching at NYU after receiving his MBA so he knew that that a Ph.D. would be a good next step to continue teaching. After getting accepted for the Ph.D. program he worked with his major professor, Dr. Gene Lai. After Dr. Lai took a position at Washington State University, Keith worked with Dr. Henry Oppenheimer on a project entitled “The Effects of the Risk Arbitrage Process.”

The program at URI was challenging for Keith. He says that he had extremely helpful professors and that “without their help I would not have been able to complete the program.” Despite an MBA from New York University, Keith recognized that the level of math needed for a Ph.D. far exceeded what he had been taught. Like most people who have gone through the College of Business Keith did not face this struggle alone. He hired previous Ph.D. students as tutors but also worked well with another student, Zhiyi Song.

Zhiyi helped Keith with the difficult math and programming and Keith reciprocated with knowledge about practical experience. This symbiotic relationship allowed them both to succeed and shows the strengths of the College of Business community.

Despite being overwhelmed with his coursework Keith was able to be involved in a number of ways around the College. He taught in Finance, teaching basic investment and beginning the Student Managed Investment Fund (RAM Fund). The Dean asked Keith to start the RAM Fund that allowed students that excelled in Finance to get real world experience for their coursework. Keith worked with a number of his previous students and challenged them to create a business plan and rules that would allow the fund to be run successfully. After they organized the RAM Fund they received $100,000 in funding from the Alumni Association that allowed this to be a reality. Most of the students who set up the Fund were in the first semester of the course that managed it and the Fund is still very successful today. Though working on an extra project was the last thing that he needed to do during the Ph.D., Keith said he was very lucky to have this opportunity.

He believed that this allowed him to get a job at St. John’s University after graduation because St. John’s already had a student managed investment fund and Keith had experience with it.

Keith also reformed the Financial Management Association, which was inactive when he got on campus. He remembered taking a busload of students to the NYSE for a