UC gets $5 million for investment lab with simulated trading floor


Dr. Timothy Johnson, founder of Cincinnati-based Johnson Investment Counsel and University of Cincinnati finance professor, recently donated $5 million to the Carl H. Lindner College of Business. The money will be used to establish the Johnson Investment Counsel Institute and Johnson Investment Counsel Investment Lab within the college’s new building.
 
The new 225,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to be completed by fall 2019, will feature top-of-the-line facilities, renowned faculty, collaborations with industry partners and increased student involvement. Johnson’s donation will specifically support a dedicated director for the institute, as well as undergraduate and graduate scholarships.
 
Plans for the state-of-the-art Johnson Investment Counsel Investment Lab include a simulated “trading floor” where students can develop their skills on innovative hardware and software systems. There will also be a manager who oversees the 30-computer lab.
 
Fundraising began for the new building in August 2015, and more than $20 million of the $120 million project has already been raised.
 
The current building, which is located at 2925 Campus Green Dr., is about 30 years old and can’t accommodate the growing number of undergraduate and graduate students at the Lindner College of Business. Currently, about one-third of business classes are taught outside of Lindner Hall.
 
Early designs from Henning Larsen Architects for the four-story building feature a glass façade, a grand atrium and lobby, open workspaces, a courtyard, café, lecture spaces and teaching lab. The new Lindner College of Business will be located at the current site of the Russell C. Myers Alumni Center and the Faculty Club building, which will be relocated.
 
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Caitlin Koenig is a Cincinnati transplant and 2012 grad of the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri. She's the department editor for Soapbox Media and currently lives in Northside with her husband, Andrew, and their three furry children. Follow Caitlin on Twitter at @caite_13.