The financial services industry demands workers who have ever more specialized knowledge and skills and whose training is relevant, up-to-date, theoretically sound, and practically oriented. The industry also requires employees capable of servicing new and expanding markets that are increasingly diverse culturally and linguistically. As a hub of national and international financial services activity, and as a multicultural and multilingual city, Chicago is uniquely positioned, both in terms of the need and the resources, to house a world-class Center for Financial Services. This Center will offer continuous and integrated training to the global financial services industry. Traditionally, the financial services industry has hired graduates from a variety of undergraduate and graduate business, marketing, and communications programs, and provided advanced training throughand training institutions including colleges, universities, and executive schools. For the most part, financial institutions and their leaders have enjoyed little opportunity to directly guide the education and professional development delivered by academia to the industry. A number of institutions of higher education have established Financial Services Centers that are primarily oriented toward academic research. These centers serve a distinct purpose, but do not always address both the practical and theoretical needs of the banking and financial services industry.