Baylor Professor Lectures in Prestigious Australian Master Class Program
Dr. James R. Garven, the Frank S. Groner Memorial Chair of Finance and professor of Finance and Insurance, presented a Ph.D.-level Master Class on the topic "Current Issues in Risk Management and Insurance" at the University of Queensland Business School in Brisbane, Australia this past summer. This Master Class was offered under the auspices of the Financial Integrity Research Network (FIRN) as part of its Younger Researcher Program.
"Being chosen by FIRN to teach this course was an honor and an important highlight in my career" said Garven, who also serves as the director of Baylor's Risk Management and Insurance academic program.
FIRN is a consortium of more than a dozen of Australia's leading universities which is funded by the Australian government, industry, and individual and institutional members.
FIRN's mission is to enhance the integrity and efficiency of Australia's financial system and to establish Australia as the Asia-Pacific hub of financial markets research excellence. It does this by sponsoring a formal Visitor Program and a Seminar Program in addition to its Younger Researcher Program. FIRN represents a unique collaborative research effort which spans the conventional boundaries of a number of different academic disciplines, including economics, finance, mathematics, and statistics. Primarily, it focuses on three main topical areas: corporate finance, financial markets and risk management.
FIRN's Master Class program represents part of a broader strategy to eventually transition doctoral level finance education in Australia toward more of a system more like the United States. Each year, FIRN invites a select group of 30-35 finance Ph.D. students from Australia's leading business schools to participate in a high profile and challenging learning environment where they are exposed to the latest developments and knowledge advances in corporate finance, financial markets, and risk management. The program is presented by internationally renowned scholars.
This year marks the second time that FIRN's Ph.D. Master Class program has been offered. Besides Garven, the other professors included in this year's program included David Lando (Copenhagen Business School) and Ronald Masulis (Vanderbilt University). The first FIRN Master Class was held in 2006 at Melbourne Business School and featured Kose John (New York University), Richard Stapleton (University of Manchester) and Allan Timmermann (University of California, San Diego).
Garven joined Baylor in 2000. In 2006, he was appointed a Visiting Professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Prior to this, he held faculty appointments in the business schools at Pennsylvania State University (1984-1989), University of Texas at Austin (1989-1996), and Louisiana State University (1998-2000). In total, Garven has published more than 20 papers in the most respected journals and books in the field of risk management and insurance.
