Professor is first woman to receive an endowed chair at Rutgers Business School

Simi Kedia, a professor of finance and economics, fills Albert Gamper Jr. Chair in Business

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May 08, 2017, 16:05 ET

NEWARK, N.J., May 8, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Rutgers Business School Professor Simi Kedia, who is highly regarded for her research on corporate governance and corporate fraud, has been appointed to hold the Albert Gamper Jr. Chair in Business.

Kedia is the first woman to fill an endowed professorship at Rutgers Business School.

During a ceremony formally appointing Kedia, Professor Ivan Brick, chair of the finance and economics department, said Kedia's research is not only published in prominent academic journals, it is often written about by journalists in the mainstream media, including Fortune magazine and The New York Times.

In addition to the visibility Kedia generates for Rutgers Business School through her research – Brick counted 13,895 results after a recent Internet search of her name – Brick said Kedia also works closely with doctoral students, assisting them with their research. "She is a very passionate individual. She's passionate about her research, and she's passionate about improving the Ph.D. program and the department," he said.

Kedia said she was "deeply honored" to receive the appointment. "All the work I've done has been done right here at Rutgers," she said. "I have a lot of fondness for Rutgers Business School, a lot of commitment and a deep sense of gratitude."

Watch an animated video on Professor Kedia's research on the contagion-effect of corporate misconduct.

Kedia joined the finance and economics faculty at Rutgers Business School in 2004 and became a full professor in 2012. She is the second professor to hold the Gamper chair.

A 1966 graduate of Rutgers University-Newark, Gamper is the retired chairman and chief executive of CIT Group. He is a former chair of the university's Board of Governors, and in 1999, he was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

When Gamper retired in 2004, he and CIT Group announced the establishment of the $2 million endowed professorship. For universities, such endowments are considered vital to retaining and recruiting quality faculty and creating an academic environment that attracts the best students.

In his comments, Executive Dean Yaw Mensah remarked on the history of endowed chairs and their use in recognizing great scholars. "Scholars strengthen Rutgers by measure," he said, "attracting faculty and students, by informing policy and public opinion and influencing their fields."

SOURCE Rutgers Business School