Five Universities with Outstanding Finance Faculty
Perhaps it is not money that makes the world go around, but rather the effective management of money. And that is squarely within the purview of finance.
Finance is the study and application of allocating assets and liabilities under risk or uncertainty, and can be organized into three broad categories: public or governmental finance, corporate finance, and personal finance. More specific financial fields include commercial banking, investment banking, wealth management, mortgages and lending, treasury, insurance, equity research, and more.
Those interested in working in finance may elect to pursue an online master’s degree in finance, which can usually be completed in two years. Earning a master of science in finance (or MSF, for short) can help to prepare graduates for careers in finance, and to this end some finance degrees are greater than others.
Below are the profiles of five prominent universities in the United States, each with an outstanding finance faculty: the Harvard University Extension School, Boston University, Johns Hopkins University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Miami.
The professors profiled below have demonstrated leadership through their years of research, teaching, and professional work experience. They have contributed to the academic discipline of finance with their excellence in teaching; are active members of professional organizations; and have been recognized by their peers and institutions for their hard work.
Harvard University
Harvard University was established in 1636 and named after clergyman John Harvard. This Ivy League school is the oldest higher learning institution in the United States and has gained a reputation for being one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
Harvard Extension School has origins from the Lowell Institute, founded in 1835, which provided free public lectures in the Boston area. In 1910, the Lowell Institute joined Harvard University to create the Department of University Extension and began rewarding degrees four years later.
Today, the fully accredited Harvard Extension School offers graduate certificates, undergraduate and graduate degrees, and over 900 online and on-campus courses.
Dr. Ned Gandevani is the program chair of the master’s of science in finance program at the New England College of Business and Finance through the Harvard Extension School. He teaches courses on managerial accounting, corporate finance, and business analysis and valuation. He earned his MBA at Long Island University and his PhD at Walden University.
Dr. Gandevani has developed quant systems and macro strategies for investment portfolios and has focused on trading psychology. Over 45 of his articles have been published and he has written four books on investment, finance, business, and investment psychology.
Before entering the world of academia, Dr. Gandevani worked as a professional trader and hedge fund manager. He is a member of the American Finance Association, the Society for Quantitative Analysis, and the American Management Association.
Dr. Ian Hudson is a professor of finance at Hult International Business School through Harvard Extension School. He teaches courses on mergers and acquisitions and restructurings. He earned his doctor of business administration at Nova Southeastern University.
Dr. Hudson researches investment analysis, currency, bond trading, derivatives, and more. He has been interviewed by Reuters, U.S. News & World Report, and has a recent article slated to be published in the Oxford Journal of Finance and Risk Perspectives.
Dr. Hudson has worked in energy trading and wealth management on both Wall Street and in London. He is a member of the Financial Management Association and the Southern Finance Association.
Dr. Bülent Aybar is an international finance professor at Southern New Hampshire University through the Harvard Extension School. He teaches courses on managerial finance and international corporate finance. He earned his PhD at Ohio State University.
Dr. Aybar researches empirical analysis of emerging capital markets, international mergers and acquisitions, and currency risk management. His work has appeared in several journals, including the Journal of Asia Pacific Business and the Emerging Markets Review, among others.
Dr. Aybar is a member of the Global Finance Association, the Multinational Finance Society, the American Finance Association, and is an editor for many financial publications.
Boston University
Boston University’s Metropolitan College began in 1965 as the Boston University Division of Continuing Education. It was created for students to take liberal arts and science classes during non-traditional hours. Within two years, students could earn certificates in executive housekeeping, bachelor’s degrees in data processing and computing, and master’s degrees in physics, among other disciplines.
Today, Boston’s Metropolitan College offers more than 70 undergraduate, graduate, and certificate programs offered during evenings, weekends, and online. Boston University enrolls more than 33,000 students from across the world and is the fourth-largest university in the United States.
Dr. Ivan Julio is an assistant professor at Boston University, where he teaches courses on financial concepts, quantitative methods, investment analysis, and corporate finance. He earned his master’s degree at Arizona State University and his doctorate at the University of New Orleans.
Dr. Julio’s research interests include empirical asset pricing, portfolio theory, real estate finance, and institutional theory. His work has been published in the Journal of Housing Research, the Global Journal of Finance and Economics, and in various Argentinian textbooks.
Before his career in academia, Dr. Julio worked on corporate executive compensation valuation as a financial researcher and as an economic consultant for MKT Consulting, where he helped build a business confidence index for Argentina.
Dr. John Sullivan is an associate professor at Boston University, where he has taught for over 25 years and served as chair of the Department of Administrative Sciences. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Regis University, his MA at Harvard University, and his MBA and doctorate at Northeastern University.
Dr. Sullivan’s research focuses on finance in healthcare, mergers and acquisitions, and asset valuation. He has published several works on healthcare finance in Nephrology News and Issues and the European Case Clearing House.
Dr. Sullivan’s background includes working as a bond analyst in high-yield corporate debt at W.R. Grace, where he oversaw over $1.5 billion in transactions. He previously served as a research fellow with the U.S. State Department’s Office of Threat Counterterrorism and Office of Threat Finance Countermeasures and is also the co-founder of Reliant Renal Care.
Dr. Irene Vodenska is an associate professor and director of the finance department at Boston University. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Belgrade in Serbia, her MBA at Vanderbilt University, and her PhD at Boston University. She teaches courses on derivative securities, investment analysis and portfolio management, financial concepts, and multinational financial management.
Dr. Vodenska focuses her research on international finance and investments, including big data analytics, volatility dynamics, systemic risk modeling, and corporate governance networks. Her work has been published in several journals, including The European Physical Journal, the Physical Review, and Nature’s Scientific Reports, among many others.
In 2014, Dr. Vodenska earned the Best Presentation Award from the International Conference on Information and Education Technology in Australia. She has also earned grants for Boston University from the National Science Foundation and the European Commission.
Johns Hopkins University
Although Johns Hopkins University is one of the oldest research institutions in the United States, the Carey Business School was established in 2006 to educate innovative leaders and teach business with humanity in mind. The school offers full-time, part-time, online, and non-degree master’s programs in several academic disciplines.
The values of the Carey Business School are centered around how excellence can be achieved through collaboration, entrepreneurism, leadership, community, respect, and integrity.
Dr. Federico Bandi is the James Carey Endowed Professor of business at Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches courses on finance and economics. He earned his PhD at Yale University.
Dr. Bandi is associate editor of the Econometrics Journal, the Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, and Economic Theory. He also serves as the joint managing editor of the Journal of Financial Econometrics.
Dr. Bandi is currently researching low-frequency asset price dynamics and measuring market frictions. He earned the 2016 Johns Hopkins Alumni Association Excellence in Teaching Award and other teaching excellence awards at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Dr. Xian Sun is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University, where she teaches in accounting and finance. She earned her bachelor’s degree at Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China, and her MBA and PhD at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Sun’s research focuses on emerging capital markets, institutional shareholders, and mergers and acquisitions. She co-authored a textbook chapter on stress testing for market risk, as well as several articles in the Journal of Corporate Finance, the Journal of Business Research, and the Journal of International Money and Finance.
The Johns Hopkins University Alumni Association has honored Dr. Sun with the Excellence in Teaching Award, as well as the Dean’s Award for two years. She also earned the Del and Edith Karger Dissertation Prize in Management and an On-The-Spot Award from the Office of the Comptroller of Currency.
Dr. Ken Yook is an associate professor of finance at Johns Hopkins University, where he teaches in the areas of mergers and acquisitions and stock repurchases. He earned his bachelor’s degree at Sogang University in South Korea, his MBA at West Virginia University, and his PhD at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln.
Dr. Yook’s research focuses on financial modeling and advanced corporate finance. His works have been published in the Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, the Quarterly Journal of Finance and Accounting, the Journal of Business, and more.
Dr. Yook is an editorial board member of the Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics and the Journal of Business & Economic Perspectives. He is currently a consulting editor for the Journal of Education for Business. Notably, he is also a three-time recipient of the Distinguished Research Award from St. Cloud State University.
Texas A&M University
Formerly Laredo State University, Texas A&M International University is a multicultural and multilingual higher learning institution with nearly 8,000 students in Texas and around the world. The school was named in 1993 and was approved by the state legislature to offer four-year degrees in 1995.
Today, students can earn master’s degrees online in business, nursing, education, and criminal justice. Texas A&M International University has been ranked as a top school for economic mobility, online master’s degrees in education, and its affordable MBA program.
Dr. Jorge Brusa is a full professor at Texas A&M University, where he teaches courses on commercial bank management, financial institutions and markets, and personal finance. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of the Littoral in Argentina, his MBA at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and his PhD at the University of Arkansas.
Dr. Brusa focuses his research on international financial technology, corporate finance, and investments. His work has been published in the Journal of Economics and Finance, the Journal of International Management Studies, and Managerial Finance, among others.
Dr. Brusa earned the 2014 Killam Professorship at Texas A&M University, as well as the Scholar of the Year Award from the A. R. Sanchez School of Business. Before his academic career, Dr. Brusa served as an assistant financial manager at Aceitera General Deheza and president of Imperex.
Dr. Heriberto Garcia is an associate professor at Texas A&M University, where he teaches courses on auditing, international finance, managerial accounting, risk management, and special issues. He earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate at the Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores in Mexico.
Dr. Garcia’s research interests include corporate governance, capital costs, regulation and financial performance. His work has been published internationally, with articles in the International Research Journal of Applied Science, Journal of International Business Research, the Business Studies Journal, Cuadernos de Administración, and Economía Teoria y Practica.
Dr. Garcia earned his certifications in strategy and competitive analysis and is a certified management accountant. Before his career in academia, he was the chief financial officer of one of the world’s largest pulp and paper companies.
Dr. Antonio Rodriguez is a professor of finance at the Texas A&M University A.R. Sanchez Jr. School of Business. He teaches courses on managerial economics, financial and economic concepts, and oversees dissertation research. He earned his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Alabama.
Dr. Rodriguez’s research interests include international finance investments and international finance markets. His work has been published in several academic and in-house journals, both in the United States and Mexico. He also has publications in several books and conference lectures.
Dr. Rodriguez has been certified by AACSB International. He has earned several awards for his teaching and administrative achievements.
University of Miami
The University of Miami Business School was founded in 1929 to prepare future leaders for transforming global business and society. Over 45,000 alumni have graduated and gone on to outstanding careers in business, like former United Airlines CEO Jack Creighton and former president and COO of McDonald’s Corporation Raul Alvarez.
Today, there are just over 3,000 students enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs, in addition to those enrolled in doctoral and executive education programs. The Miami Business School has been offering online master’s degrees since 2015.
Dr. Gennaro Bernile is an associate professor of finance at the University of Miami. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Naples in Italy and his master’s and doctorate degrees at the University of Rochester.
Dr. Bernile’s research interests include corporate finance, corporate governance, venture capital and private equity, network economics, and applied game theory. His work has been published in the Journal of Finance, the Journal of Financial Economics, the Review of Financial Studies, and several other publications.
Before his academic career, Dr. Bernile worked as a financial consultant for Forensic Economics, Inc. He has been recognized with several honors and awards for his academic and professional achievements.
Dr. Stefanos Delikouras is an assistant professor of finance at the University of Miami. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the University of Piraeus in Greece and his master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Delikouras’s work focuses on asset pricing, behavioral finance, macroeconomics, household finance, and investor behavior. His work has been published in the Review of Asset Pricing Studies, the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, the Review of Financial Studies, and the Journal of Finance.
Dr. Delikouras earned a Fulbright Scholarship in 2004, as well as the Flamholtz Award for excellence during his doctoral studies and the Rodkey Fellowship at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Alok Kumar is the Gabelli asset management professor and department chair of finance at the University of Miami. He earned his bachelor’s degree at the Indian Institute of Technology, his master’s degrees at Dartmouth College, his financial management degree at Yale University, and his PhD at Cornell University.
Dr. Kumar focuses his research on behavioral finance, empirical asset pricing, corporate finance, and computational economics. His work has been published in several prominent journals, including the Review of Accounting Studies, the Accounting Review, Management Science, and the Journal of Financial Economics.
In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dr. Kumar is the chief investment officer at Coral Gables Asset Management. The University of Miami and the University of Texas at Austin have honored him with awards for his teaching excellence.