Joe Banach, Hillsdale College’s instructor of Personal Finance and Investing, first heard about Hillsdale College through a Wall Street Journal article advertising Imprimis in 1977.
At the time, Banach was in the middle of his career as an electrical engineer in California’s aerospace industry. Over the years, he continued to read Imprimis and a few books he got from the Hillsdale press — this continued until about 1991. Banach was then invited to an outreach benefit presentation to learn more about the college.
“I went and listened and by the end started to wonder if this place is for real,” Banach said. “I am on the West Coast so all my knowledge about the college came through my experience with it out there. I thought it sounded pretty good so I decided to check it out.”
The CCA of January 1992 was the beginning of what is now a twenty-four-year relationship he has with Hillsdale College. Impressed with what he saw, Banach started funding a scholarship to benefit Hillsdale students that showed initiative in their education. He continued to visit Hillsdale college over the decades and stayed in close contact with members of the faculty he met such as Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram, Professor of Biology Francis Steiner, and others.
“I was encouraged to come back to Hillsdale to do more things,” Banach said. “My response was always, ‘Well I am good at finance, is that something you are looking for?’”
Banach’s expertise in finance came through an MBA in finance he earned while still working as an engineer. Throughout the years he realized the information needed to be successful in personal finance and investing was changing. To keep himself up to date, he taught himself to pass the Chartered Financial Analyst exams. With that background, when his engineering career came to a close in 2005, he became a registered investment advisor for seven years before deciding to retire.
“I realized that I am better at the analysis part than the marketing, and I have enough investments that I did not need to work anymore,” Banach said. “This was around the time I started talking to Dr. Arnn and others about these things and decided to start coming to Hillsdale.”
The College has arranged for him to come to Hillsdale for ten weeks out of every semester to offer a class in personal finance and investing. Though the class was initially for faculty and staff, it quickly developed into a one-credit course to give students a grasp on important financial principles.
Junior and political economy major Charles Penola said he enjoyed taking the class last semester.
“I took it because I had just switched from finance to political economy in the fall and thought it sounded like an interesting class,” Penola said. “I didn’t have time for a full three-credit course, so I enjoyed taking it because it gave me a taste of finance and investing.”
Banach says the goal is to teach a practical course about things people usually learn on their own within twenty or thirty years of managing their personal finances and investments. “Learning the basics now with time on your side is a great advantage,” Banach said.
Over the past couple years, since first offering the class, Banach has striven to keep the class applicable to young students who are just starting off in their finances. He said he wants to stay focused on the basics and small things people can do to keep their household finances and investments in good order.
Senior and biochemistry major Joe Duff also took the class last semester.
“I found Professor Banach to be the most valuable part of this class because he presented the information in such a way that someone with no previous background could easily comprehend,” Duff said.
The class appears to becoming more popular.
“Last semester I had a class of seven,” Banach said. “But this semester we have thirty-six students registered.”
Banach said he is excited to teach at Hillsdale College and hopes the knowledge he has acquired over the years can be put to good use by students.
“I am not a professional professor,” Banach said. “I am just a guy teaching practical things that I have learned over the years.”
