February 23, 2003

New Chair of Finance Profiled

The Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette profiled new Department of Finance chair David Ikenberry and called him "the new Ikenberry in UI administration," a reference to his father, Stanley, former president of the University of Illinois (1979-1995). In the interview by Don Dodson, the Finance professor pointed out that he was an undergraduate at Pennsylvania State University when his father and mother lived in the President's House on Florida Avenue in Urbana. He returned to Urbana and the University of Illinois for his graduate degree under Professor Josef Lakonishok.

Ikenberry heads the 25-member department that was recently ranked 12th in the country by the Financial Management journal in terms of productivity of its faculty. "I want to be one of the strongest departments in the country in terms of intellectual impact on society," he said. "Illinois finance has been shaping the debate in the academy during the last decade. I want our faculty to be shaping and driving that debate, defining what about public policy is right or wrong, addressing the crucial questions."

In a sidebar, reporter Dodson addressed Ikenberry's academic interest in corporate finance.He is one of three co-founders of the National Forum on Corporate Finance, a group that gathers CFO and corporate treasurers together with academics to discuss shared interests --- focusing on "conversation, dialogue, and learning." The annual meeting is planned for early May in Chicago.

The complete interview and sidebar are not available online.