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Students and community members listen to CU business masters students debate for John McCain's and Barack Obama's platforms at the Leeds School of Business on Tuesday. The teams for both presidential candidates addressed proposals on taxes, deficits, and more.

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CU business master’s student Jason Wood, right, listens to Obama supporter Mackay Miller, also a master’s student, debate for Barack Obama’s economic platform at the Leeds School of Business on Tuesday. Wood was debating for John McCain. The teams for both presidential candidates addressed proposals on taxes, deficits and more.

Brian Vautour didn't need notecards or a TelePrompTer for a prime-time debate in the business school, where he and his peers sparred over the economic platforms of the presidential candidates.

The University of Colorado MBA student on Team John McCain pulled his wallet from his back pocket. He shook it in the air. Then he drove home his point that the government needs to reign in spending and let interest rates fall during this economic crisis.

"What's in our wallet is what you care about at the end of the day," Vautour said to the packed auditorium that gathered one week before the presidential election. "When your house price goes down, you feel less wealthy."

The Wall Street meltdown, financial industry bailout and the presidential candidates' subsequent emphasis on economic policy is making it a germane semester for business students and their professors.

"Everybody is calling it a teachable moment," said Sarah Behunek, a spokeswoman for CU's Leeds School of Business.

At CU's business school, the dean is tapping the expertise of his finance professors for lively panels. Class syllabi are rearranged to make them more relevant to the current events. And Wall Street Journal newspapers, which are free to business school students thanks to a donor, are supplementing textbooks more than ever.

One company is even peddling an educational game to universities across the country called "Wall Street Survivor" to help college students better understand the stock market and become more savvy before they invest money.

Students energized about economy

About 150 people turned out for last week's economic policy debate sponsored by MBA students, most of whom are expecting to graduate in 2010.

They wrangled with each other over which economy, as freshly minted graduates, they'd want to step into -- one shaped by McCain's policies or another reformed by Democrat Barack Obama. Both teams had a similar debate strategy. They drew from the economic principles they learned in class to make their points relevant to the audience.

Team Barack Obama said the government, in a time of recession, needs to spend and do so responsibly. The students rooted for Obama's plan to create new jobs in the United States by investing $150 billion in renewable energy and end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas.

And they shook their finger at the Bush administration for inheriting a budget surplus and plunging the nation into debt by spending $10 billion a month on the war in Iraq, echoing a talking point from the realObama camp.

"Republicans aren't responsible spenders," MBA studentBrian Molk said.

Shaun Duignan, siding with McCain, quizzed his opponents on how Obama was going to be able to increase funding for 183 programs as promised.

"I'm curious where you're going to get this money from," Duignan retorted.

Changing curriculum

Dennis Ahlburg, dean of the business school, said there's a noticeable buzz in the business school.

"It's quite an active learning moment," he said. "It's a tragedy, but it's a learning experience. As educators, we have to recognize that, and use every opportunity we can to help people learn about it."

In September, he put together a Wall Street panel discussionwith finance experts. He's looking to arrange another onelater this month on business psychology and consumer behavior, drawing faculty from other areas of expertise on the Boulder campus.

"When everything went to hell in a hand basket, a number of faculty stopped what they were covering, and engaged students with what's going on," Ahlburg said. "Every business school student should be totally on top of what's going on. This is probably the most dramatic event they will ever see in their lives."

For CU finance professor Sanjai Bhagat, his lectures on the subprime mortgage industry are especially significant this semester. He asks his students how people can be considered homeowners when they have no equity and 100 percent debt. He teaches about the prudence of making a 15 to 20 percent downpayment on homes, a financial strategy that started eroding in 2002 and has resulted in an accelerated foreclosure rate.

"It's underlined the relevance of the syllabi even more," Bhagat said.

Subprime borrowers are considered to have a high risk of defaulting on their loan because of a delinquent credit history, recorded bankruptcy or limited debt experience. Last year, nearly 1.3 million U.S. housing properties were subject to foreclosure activity, up 79 percent, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace that tracks foreclosure properties.

Facing the job market

CU professor Tom Thibodeau, who teaches real estate courses, knows his students are getting anxious about graduating into a volatile real world. "They're very concerned," he said. "These are second-year MBA students entering job markets, and they want to know how long the crisis is going to last. It's hard to predict."

Thibodeau said that regardless of who is elected president, today's generation of business graduates will work in a financial industry with much tighter regulations.

Dean Ahlburg said he expects recruiters to arrive in the spring looking for business students on the cusp of graduation. Wall Street jobs will be especially competitive next year, meaning graduates will likely be considering careers in less-glamorous markets such as Denver and Chicago.

It's not all doom and gloom in the financial industry, Ahlburg said, and students are trained to be innovative.

"This is not the end of the world," he said. "It doesn't mean that there aren't jobs out there."

Contact Camera Staff Writer Brittany Anas at 303-473-1132 or anasb@dailycamera.com.