Dr. David Burnie, professor of finance and commercial law, has been awarded the National City Corporation Endowed Chair in Finance and Commercial Law in the WMU Department of Finance and Commercial Law.“The award is given to an outstanding faculty member with a rank of assistant professor or higher who has demonstrated exceptional contributions to his/her discipline,” says Dr. Kay Palan, dean, Haworth College of Business. “All aspects of academics were considered in the selection, including teaching, research and service.”
The award includes a stipend, as well as funding for research and research related expenses and is made for three years with the opportunity for renewal pending continued outstanding contributions to the discipline.
Burnie’s research has covered a variety of topics including the valuation of corporate governance issues, security return distributions and institutional holdings, debt securities, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, rights, options, dividend re-investment plans and repurchases.
He previously served the College as associate dean, providing administrative leadership of all aspects of graduate education, oversight of the graduate programs both domestic and international, and managing relationships with all off-campus MBA sites.
The endowed chair is the result of a $1.5 million multi-year gift from National City to WMU announced in 1991. Dr. Ajay Samant, was the most recent recipient of this award. He currently serves as dean and professor of finance at Coggin College of Business, University of North Florida.
