Financial Analyst Named as Executive in Residence for Agribusiness Training

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Jim Porter

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Jim Porter, who has worked on Wall Street and as an analyst with the CIA, has been named executive in residence for the Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

He will be on campus for extended visits three times throughout the year for guest lectures and to meet with students. He is also teaching a two-credit special topics course – Financial and Risk Management Strategies for the Agribusiness Professional -- either during the spring semester or May intersession.

The lecture and computer laboratory course will prepare students to manage investment portfolios for a small agribusiness by offering experience in portfolio management and trading/portfolio management software.

Porter, who earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from the U of A in 1963 and a master’s degree in astronomy from the University of Iowa in 1966, began his career as an astrophysicist at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. From 1966 to 1969, he was a scientist in intelligence analysis for the CIA before going into the securities and futures industries.

“We are thrilled to give our students the opportunity to work with Jim to gain real-world experience in financial and risk management, and critical skills for 21st century agribusiness professionals,” said Steve Halbrook, professor and department head.   

Porter is a former member of several principal exchanges, including the Midwest Stock Exchange (now the Chicago Stock Exchange), the Pacific Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the Chicago Board Options Exchange. He was also a principal and chief executive officer of First Options of Chicago Inc., a securities, futures and options clearing firm. He later formed his own companies — New Century Investment Research and Management Inc. and New Century Capital Management.

The Bumpers College recently instituted the executive-in-residence program, which was a recommendation by the Dean’s Executive Advisory Board. The board agreed it would benefit students to have successful professionals speak and help prepare them for their careers.

Previous executives in residence include Kelly Kemp, a broadcasting and public relations professional who is chief advancement officer for The Jones Center/Jones Trust; Bernie Murphy, president of Jones-Hamilton Co., an employee-owned chemical business in Walbridge, Ohio, with markets in food, pet food, poultry, steel, water treatment, oil and gas; and Jimmy Taylor, vice president of extended stay options with the Intercontinental Hotel Group.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.