Levon Goukasian

Levon Goukasian

Pepperdine Appoints Levon Goukasian As Inaugural Singleton Chair in Finance

MALIBU, CA - Pepperdine University announced the appointment of Professor Levon Goukasian as the Singleton Chair in Finance, thanks to a generous gift from Seaver College alumnus Will Singleton ("84) to establish the endowed position.

The gift provides a financial stipend for the chair holder to develop a program that promotes financial literacy for students in grades K-12 and encourages universities and other institutions to get involved in the push for financial literacy.

Goukasian, the new chair's first appointed occupant, has been a professor of finance at Pepperdine for the last eight years.

"Professor Goukasian has a background in finance and economics that makes him ideally suited to the position," Singleton adds. "His extensive knowledge and research efforts in the field, together with his passion for teaching and recognized excellence in that regard, will prove to, make a difference not only to his students, but to the Pepperdine community as a whole."

Goukasian holds a bachelor's degree from Yerevan State University in Armenia, and two master's degrees and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, where he previously taught. He was also a senior hedge specialist at the Risk Management Department of Countrywide Financial Corp. Beyond financial literacy education, his research interests include corporate social responsibility and the importance of investment strategy. In 2006 he was awarded the Howard A. White Award for Teaching Excellence at Pepperdine, and was a Seaver Research Fellow in 2004 and 2006. He has had chapters published in the Journal of Public Economic Theory, Journal of Fixed Income, and Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, among others.

Source: California Courier