Anderson named Lehigh's third Joseph R. Perella and Amy M. Perella Chair

	Anne-Marie Anderson

Anne-Marie Anderson, the Theodore A. Lauer Distinguished Professor in the Perella Department of Finance, has been named the College of Business and Economics’ third Joseph R. Perella and Amy M. Perella Chair.
Anderson has also been named director of the college’s Financial Services Laboratory. Designed to simulate a modern trading room, the laboratory uses the same advanced technology and financial software used by the Wall Street community.
Anderson joins business school colleague Gopal Krishnan and incoming University of Missouri professor Paul Brockman as the college’s Joseph R. Perella and Amy M. Perella Chairs.
“Anne has quickly distinguished herself as a thoughtful and enthusiastic professor, highly regarded by her peers as well as her students,” says Paul R. Brown, dean of the College of Business and Economics. “She is a tremendous asset to the College of Business and Economics, and her scholarly contributions and engaging classroom demeanor reflect her commitment to Lehigh and the Perella Department of Finance.”
Since joining Lehigh’s College of Business and Economics in 2003 as an assistant professor of finance, Anderson has earned international recognition for her research. Most recently, she partnered with accounting department chair Parveen Gupta to conduct ground-breaking research tying a country’s financial and legal system to corporate governance to firm performance. That effort resulted in the prestigious Vernon Zimmerman Best Paper Award and international accolades from the corporate governance community.
The West Point graduate brings an unusual perspective to business education, having served in both the private and public sector before turning to academia. Anderson previously served as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and as a plant engineer for Lanier Clothes, a subsidiary of one the largest apparel manufacturers in the world.
Her areas of interest span the financial field and include corporate finance and governance, mergers and acquisitions, microfinance, socially responsible investing, and valuation. A 2007 paper on socially responsible investing, co-authored by fellow Perella Department of Finance professor David Myers, was a finalist for the coveted Moscowitz Prize.
“An exciting time to be here at Lehigh”
“The faculty here at Lehigh, particularly in the College of Business and Economics, has been incredibly supportive over the past few years,” says Anderson. “It’s such an exciting time to be here at Lehigh. I’m honored to hold the Joseph R. Perella and Amy M. Perella Chair and look forward to a rewarding experience helping to lead the Financial Services Laboratory.”
Anderson has gained a reputation as a well-liked, but challenging, finance professor. Soon after students honored her with the Lehigh Junior Award for Distinguished Teaching in 2005, BusinessWeek magazine featured Anderson in its national “ Favorite Professors” series.
“With so much international focus on financial markets and the global economic downturn, Lehigh has done a remarkable job of providing its students with a rich educational experience that explores, in as in-depth a way as possible, the changing business landscape,” said Joseph R. Perella ’64, chairman and CEO of Perella Weinberg Partners.
“Anne is the perfect candidate to help in that effort,” he added. “She is an impact player. Not only is she talented, but she has an incredibly strong and experienced team of colleagues with which to work at Lehigh.”
Anderson’s new position is the latest of several high profile appointments made by Brown this academic year to further raise the stature of Lehigh’s finance program. In March, he announced that John Chrin ’85, a leader in the mergers and acquisitions field who managed many of J.P. Morgan’s multibillion dollar transitions during his career there, was leaving Wall Street for a year-long stint as the college’s first Global Financial Services Executive-in-Residence starting this fall.
Earlier in the year, Brockman, currently the Matteson Professor of Financial Services at the University of Missouri’s Robert J. Trulaske, Sr. College of Business, accepted a position at Lehigh as the college’s second Perella Chair. Brockman is a well-known expert on corporate finance and derivatives who will work closely with both Anderson and Chrin in the Financial Services Laboratory starting July 1.
As director of the Financial Services Laboratory, Anderson will lead a state-of-the-art facility profiled as one of the nation’s most elaborate by BusinessWeek. Since opening its door in 2004, thousands of Lehigh students have used the laboratory to gain real-time access to investment data, media, analytical tools, and global trading. It’s the only such wireless facility between Lehigh and Wall Street.
“The Financial Services Laboratory is key to keeping our students and faculty current in this complicated financial world, and as someone involved with the Laboratory since its inception in 2004, I’m pleased that we are poised to take it to the next level of growth through Anne’s leadership,” said Perella.
Anderson will take over responsibility for running the laboratory from David Myers, who has been director since the facility opened. According to Brown, Myers has continued to strengthen the facility by incorporating new technology and financial software, introducing the center to more students and courses outside of the business school, and advising a number of student clubs associated with the laboratory.
“David has done a great job of building the Financial Services Laboratory into a multifaceted resource for the entire Lehigh community,” says Brown. “His leadership over the past five years has helped make the laboratory a cornerstone of all of our students’ educational experience here at Lehigh.”
--Tom Yencho
Photo by Douglas Benedict