From energy to mining and even agriculture, Denver’s history is steeped in commodities. Now, the city is pushing to establish itself as a leading center for research and training in commodity finance.
The University of Colorado Denver Business School officially launched the J.P. Morgan Center for Commodities on Thursday, calling it a first-of-a-kind program that intertwines commodity finance, public policy and economics.
“There are no programs dealing with the broad range of commodities,” said Sueann Ambron, the school’s dean.
The center is on the first floor of the school’s new business building at 1475 Lawrence St.
A feasibility study the university did found 77 programs specializing in equity trading, five focused on energy trading and isolated labs on niche areas, Ambron said.
“We agreed there was a void there,” said Blythe Masters, who oversees more than 600 workers worldwide as head of J.P. Morgan Global Commodities.
J.P. Morgan announced Thursday it would make a $5.5 million gift to the program, which comes on top of an earlier donation of $2.5 million in February from Greenwood Village-based CoBank. The J.P. Morgan donation will fund an endowed chair for a professor to research commodity market issues, as well as provide scholarships.
The investment bank will help craft the curriculum, lend the expertise of its employees and hire graduates, Masters said.
The industry doesn’t need just people who know how to trade but workers who understand the interplay between what they are doing with broader topics such as public policy and sustainability, she said.
Ambron gives credit for the original idea for the program to George Solich, president and chief executive of Cordillera Energy Partners and an alumnus of the school.
“Everybody covers equities, but nobody covers commodities,” said Solich, despite the more direct impact commodities have on people’s lives.
Protesters didn’t take to the streets in countries from Tunisia to Egypt over stock market volatility, but initially because of rising food prices. And closer to home, who hasn’t felt the pinch of rising gasoline prices?
Despite that, no school has put together a multidisciplinary approach covering commodities markets as a whole, Solich said.
“Demand worldwide is so great and the market very complex,” he said. “This center will help us.”
Commodity finance, which at its core is about allocating resources, has gained in importance as people across the globe improve their living standards, CoBank chief executive Bob Engel told an audience gathered for the center’s opening.
“Here in the U.S., it’s imperative that we understand how commodity markets are going to evolve and change in an increasingly resource-constrained world,” Engel said.
Aldo Svaldi: 303-954-1410, avaldi@denverpost.com or
