Which classes do you teach online?
FIN 605 and FIN 606
What do you want students in your courses to learn? What is the learning outcome or objective?
The primary focus of finance is how to properly handle the acquisition of funds and the deployment of those funds so as to maximize the wealth of the company's shareholders.
We have a plethora of tools available to us to accomplish this. Studying these tools and how to apply them is the focus of the course.
Why did you start teaching?
I had always enjoyed the classroom environment and after a decade in the automotive industry, I thought I would try my hand at teaching to see if I liked it. That was 35 years ago.
What advice would you give to those considering this online MBA program?
We are fully accredited by the premier accrediting body for business schools, AACSB. Less than 10% of the business schools in the world are able to gain this distinction. This assures the student that the professors in the program have met the standards of AACSB, which is hugely important.
What qualities make someone particularly successful in finance?
Finance is a field that has both a very theoretical side and very practical side. A person who will be successful in finance must be able to understand the theory and be able to translate the theory into actions that are beneficial to the firm. A love of, or at least a comfort level with, mathematics and statistics is also necessary given the quantitative nature of the field.
What do you think is the biggest challenge that people in finance face today?
The ever-changing array of new financial products that appear with regularity; things like new derivative contracts would be an example.
What is the one book you think everyone should read?
“A Random Walk Down Wall Street" by Burton Malkiel.
Tell us something interesting about yourself that your students may not know.
I have two recreational passions in life: boating and sports-car racing.
