Michael J. Rizzo
http://web.centre.edu/rizzo/
rizzo@centre.edu
Home Address:
1380 Chrisman Lane
Danville, KY 40422
(859) 236 – 5656 (home)
(859) 319 – 1518 (mobile)
Office Address:
Centre College
Department of Economics
600 West Walnut Street
Danville, KY 40422
(859) 238 – 5239
EDUCATION
Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
 Doctor of Philosophy in Economics, August 2004
 Master of Arts in Economics, October 2002. GPA 3.84
 Expertise in Labor Economics, Higher Education, Environmental Economics & Applied
Econometrics
 President, Graduate Student Association in Field of Economics
Amherst College, Amherst, MA
 Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Magna Cum Laude, May 1996
 Cumulative G.P.A.: 3.50 In major: 3.90. Minor concentration in Physics
 Hamilton Prize Award Winner 1993-94 (top underclassmen economics performer)
 Bernstein Prize Award Winner 1995-96 (top senior honors thesis in economics)
 Varsity Football, 1992-93. Assistant Coach / Manager Varsity Football 1994-95
1999-2004
1992-96
EXPERIENCE
Assistant Professor, Centre College, Department of Economics, Danville, KY
2004-present
 Specialize in undergraduate instruction at U.S.N.W.R. Top 50 Liberal Arts College.
 Courses include: Economic Analysis of the University, Labor Economics, Empirical Methods,
Development Economics, Principles of Microeconomics, Intermediate Microeconomics
 Advisor to undergraduate students and supervises independent undergraduate research projects
 Advisor to non-academic groups and sits on committees as needed
 Named “Rookie-of-the-Year” for 2004-05 academic year
Consultant, Scannell & Kurz, Inc., Rochester, NY
2004-present
 Provides advice on higher education enrollment management and financial aid strategies to leading
firm in the industry
 Builds, proofs and improves econometric models used in enrollment prediction and retention studies
Instructor, Cornell University School of Industrial & Labor Relations, Ithaca, NY
2003-2004
 Prepared and instructed 15 weeks of classes, 150 minutes per week of introductory labor economics
to 30 Industrial and Labor Relations undergraduates in Spring ’03 & ‘04 (evaluations forthcoming)
Senior Graduate Research Assistant, Cornell Higher Education Research Institute, Ithaca, NY2000-2004
 With Director of CHERI, Professor Ronald G. Ehrenberg, perform and administer data collection and
cleaning, statistical and econometric analysis, participates in and attends a variety of relevant
conferences, direct surveys and research reports on a variety of higher education topics
 Mentors and leads team of 5 graduate and 7 undergraduates through weekly process meetings and
other CHERI responsibilities
 Currently study the impacts of the increasing cost of science at research universities
 Recent publications include an analysis of nonresident tuition and enrollment at public flagship
universities, an analysis of faculty retirement and an analysis of tuition reciprocity programs
Assistant Manager, Hickory Hollow Golf Range & Pro Shop, Ithaca, NY
1999-2004
 Manage operations of shop and range (up to 10,000 balls per day)
 Maintain outside range including ball-retrieval, equipment maintenance, mowing, raking, ball
washing and seeding
 Assist golf pro in club-fitting, equipment purchases, sales promotions and business assessment
Area Coordinator, Dep’t of Residential Life, Amherst College, Amherst, MA
1998-99
 Assisted in the recruitment, hiring, training, supervision, leadership development and evaluation of
residential life student staff of 60
 Supervised, advised and performed administrative functions for residential life staff and students in a
cluster of residence halls including mediating roommate conflicts, assessing building damage and
compiling damage billing information for the Physical Plant Department
 Updated and rewrote residence counselor manual
 Assisted in implementation of New Student Orientation
 Monitored staff budgets of apx. $10,000 per year
 Participated in the Dean on Duty rotation schedule
 Served on campus committees as needed
Analyst / Associate, Putnam, Lovell & Thornton Inc. (now PL NBF)
1996-98
Mergers and Acquisitions Group
 Participated in marketing, due diligence, transaction execution and hiring and training new analysts in
asset management industry
 Specialized in discounted cash flow pricing, public and private company comparable pricing,
previous transaction comparison pricing, identifying potential acquisition targets or buyers
 Completed $70 million purchase of Delaware Funds Group to Lincoln National Corporation and
Riggs and Company’s purchase of J.Bush & Co.
Structured Finance / Capital Markets Group
 Priced and structured a variety of debt and equity financing vehicles including asset-backed
securities, senior debt, mezzanine debt, and private and public equity in U.S. and in Canada
 Securitized cash streams included back-end load mutual fund fees, deferred brokerage commissions,
and variable annuity commission streams
Coordinator, Student Security, Department of Public Safety, Amherst College
1993-96
 Hired and trained 10 full-time and 10 part-time student security monitors for campus social events
 Administered an annual budget of $10,000 and reported to Chief of Campus Security and Deputies
 Aided in organization of security for annual 2,000 spectator concerts (including for Dave Matthews,
Bob Dylan, Spin Doctors, Natalie Merchant)
Resident Counselor, Department of Residential Life, Amherst College
1994-1996
 Supervised up to 70 students in mixed class residence halls
 Created residential life newsletter to disseminate information to residents
 Worked closely with staff of 14 in programming social, educational and health related activities
 Managed budgets, mediated housemate conflicts and received training in sexuality, health, gender,
multi-cultural and psychological issues
VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES
Associate Agent (formerly Class Agent), Amherst College Annual Fund
1997-present
 Develop relationships through phone, e-mail, and in-person contacts with Class of 1996 alums
 Raised over $12,000 with 48% participation in past year for class of 391 members
Adirondack Mountain Club, Lake George, NY
2000-present
 Spend one week per summer building, preserving and maintaining trails
 Helped solicit local business donations for annual Harvest Moon Madness Charity Auction
United States Golf Association, Far Hills, NJ
2002-present
 Serve on variety of committees to stage annual United States Open Championship. Worked for 2003
(IL) Mens Championships and 2004 (MA), 2006 (RI)Women’s Open Championships.
COMPUTER SKILLS
Skilled in STATA programming and a variety of statistical packages. Experience with a variety of online
research interfaces. Expertise in Excel, Word and PowerPoint and other office applications. Basic skills
in Dreamweaver and related applications.
ACTIVITIES/INTERESTS
Loves to golf, hike, bird-watch, camp, kayak, play acoustic guitar and jog. Member of Adirondack
Mountain Club, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Appalachian Mountain Club, National Parks Conservation
Association, Sierra Club, United States Golf Association. Sincere interest in environmental advocacy and
political debate.