Gabelli School’s Iftekhar Hasan Receives University Professor Title

Faculty Gabelli100 | Nov 12, 2019 | Cynthia Ramsaran

Dr. Iftekhar Hasan, a celebrated Gabelli School of Business professor of finance, gave his first lecture as a conferred University Professor to a large group of students and colleagues, including University Provost Dennis Jacobs and Vice Provost, Jonathan Crystal, on November 6th.

Hasan’s inaugural lecture centered around the differences in Christian morality between Catholics and Protestants and whether this difference has any impact on periods of financial distress, specifically household overindebtedness. He presented his research paper, “And Forgive Us Our Debts”: Do Christian Moralities Influence Overindebtedness of Individuals?

In the paper, Hasan analyzes whether Christian moralities and rules formed differently by Catholics and Protestants impact the likelihood of households to become overindebted. He, along with his co-authors, found that overindebtedness is lower in regions in which Catholics outweigh Protestants, indicating that forgiveness culture of the Catholic doctrines and stricter enforcement of rules by Protestants serve as explanations.

The results of this research provide evidence that religion affects the financial situations of individuals and show that even 500 years after the split between Catholics and Protestants, the differences in the mind-sets of both denominations play an important role for situations of severe financial conditions.

A Prolific Scholar

Hasan joined the Gabelli School faculty in 2011 as the E. Corrigan Chair in International Business and Finance. Since then, he has published 130 journal articles, and among them, 18 are in the top 5 accounting, finance, and management journals.

He also serves as a scientific advisor at the Central Bank of Finland, a research fellow at the Financial Institution Center at the Wharton School as well as at the IWH Institute, Halle, Germany, and managing editor of the Journal of Financial Stability.

Before the lecture, Gabelli School of Business Dean, Donna Rapaccioli, Ph.D., introduced Hasan, thanking him for his leadership and innovative approach to teaching.

“I am very grateful for many of the contributions Iftekhar has made to Fordham, but I am most proud of the transformational role he is playing in educating the next generation of business educators,” she said. “His leadership of our Ph.D. program has brought the dreams of many faculty, including myself, to fruition. His tireless efforts are an example for us all.”

Exceptional Achievement Across Disciplines

The title of University Professor at Fordham is conferred upon persons of exceptional achievement in areas of learning that span more than one discipline, who possess the essential qualifications of a professor, and who deserve special recognition.

Fordham University Provost Dennis Jacobs recognized Hasan’s merit as a newly conferred University Professor.

“Fordham University has taken the position of designating Iftekhar Hasan as University Professor,” said Jacobs. “A distinction that recognizes not only the scholar work that you do but important way you connect disciplines across the University. And for that, we are grateful.”