Finance doctoral student accepts faculty position at WMU
Matthew Ross, a Ph.D. candidate in the School of Business Administration at Wayne State University, has accepted an offer to join the faculty of the Haworth College of Business at Western Michigan University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Finance and Commercial Law, effective August 18, 2014.
A native of Grand Rapids, Ross earned a BSE in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan in 2000. He then served four years as an officer in the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, including a deployment in Iraq. Upon leaving the service in 2004, Ross earned an MBA from Drexel University in Philadelphia while managing projects for Sunoco, a Fortune 500 company. He joined the Ph.D. program at WSU in 2010 and is scheduled to defend his dissertation next July. His research titled, "Elections and Asset Pricing: The Politically Sensitive Equity of US Military Contractors," is motivated by his military experience, providing insight into the interaction between stock prices and politics.
An appointment at Western Michigan is a homecoming of sorts for Ross. In addition to being born and raised on the west side of the state, both of his parents have degrees from WMU. However, the appeal of WMU and its business school go far beyond family and geography for Ross.
"For four years in a row, Western Michigan has been recognized as a top university for veterans, and is one of only a few that offers coursework in military science and leadership within the business school," Ross said. "As a veteran myself, I found that very interesting and appealing. It gives me an opportunity to give back while moving my career forward."
WSU Associate Professor of Finance Mbodja Mougoué, who serves as chair of Ross’ dissertation committee, is confident that his student’s future is bright in Kalamazoo.
"WMU will give Matt a teaching load in his first years that will facilitate an effective research program," Mougoué said. "And the Haworth College of Business provides some excellent financial databases that will support that research."
For more information on doctoral programs in the Wayne State School of Business Administration, visit http://business.wayne.edu/phd/index.php or contact Ph.D. Program Director Professor Attila Yaprak, at businessphd@wayne.edu.
