Business

Business Student Council (BSC)

The Business Student Council (BSC) is committed to supporting the mission of the Department of Business by serving as a liaison between the students and faculty/staff. Our primary focus is to foster a community by gathering students' feedback and concerns to give them a voice, planning extracurricular activities to promote unity, and recommending courses of action to improve the Department of Business.

Student Managed Stock Fund

Get real, hands-on investment experience through the University's Student Managed Stock Fund. Starting with $50,000 from the University's endowment, you can select your own stocks based on sound financial principles and then manage this investment portfolio for the University. Gallaudet is one of very few universities in the nation that gives you this kind of real-life investing.

The Gallaudet University Student Managed Fund (SMF) is an equity fund managed for the University’s endowment by enrolled students in the Investment class BUS-253 each semester. SMF has a dual purpose. First, the student managers of the SMF strive to achieve maximum return on investments for the University. Second, by participating in investment decisions for the SMF, Gallaudet University undergraduates obtain unrivaled practical experience researching investment options, making portfolio decisions, and interacting with finance professionals in the field.

The SMF’s preliminary startup activities began with initial $50,000 during the 2001-2002 academic year by the late Dr. Stephen Chaikind. At that time, a structure and set of rules for managing the SMF were established. These include diversification guidelines limiting initial investments in any one company to no more than 10 percent of the total value of the SMF. Other rules generally follow Gallaudet University’s regular endowment guidelines, including diversification requirements across sectors; stock selection based on sound research; and prohibitions on using margin for investments, short selling, options, investments in tobacco companies and listings appearing only on foreign stock exchanges. All funds invested, as well as any gains or losses, remain part of the University’s endowment.

Currently the SMF is under the supervision of Dr. Fouad Moussa, Professor of Finance and Real Estate at the Business Program. The SMF reached $475,000 effective October, 2021 despite the negative impact on the stock market during the COVID pandemic. The total SMF value of $475,000 as of October 2021, shows 850% gain since inception.

H Street Research Project

Gallaudet is a partner with the surrounding D.C. community and the D.C. Office of Planning to help the city revitalize the nearby H Street commercial corridor. In this project, as a marketing student, you'll provide city officials with information on consumer preferences within the deaf community and will develop plans that will expand business opportunities for current students, graduates, and other members of the community.