Lothian honored for ‘distinguished service’ at conference
Faculty | Sep 16, 2015 | Gabelli School of Business
James R. Lothian has worn many hats in his career: professor, valued colleague, researcher and editor.
Each role was part of the reason he was honored on Friday following a day-long conference on research topics such as The Benefits of Geographic Diversification in Banking and Taking Individual Financial Responsibility.
Lothian, a Fordham professor who served as the editor of the Journal of International Money and Finance for 26 years, was recognized during the conference, attended by scholars from as far away as the Netherlands and Australia, “for his distinguished service.” Gabelli School of Business Dean Donna Rapaccioli thanked Lothian for his sharp wit and his dedication to research, which she said helped lead Fordham to become a much stronger research-centered institution.
Lothian said that actually hearing the glowing comments from his peers was unique.
“I quipped at the start that it generally happens after you’re gone,” Lothian joked. “So I hope this isn’t a harbinger of things to come. I know at some point it’s going to happen, but I’d like to hang around more.”
As the Topetta Family Chair in Global Financial Markets at the Gabelli School, Lothian said that even though he was being congratulated for an influential career, he’s far from ready to retire, citing one recently accepted paper on models of inflation and another, using long-term data to examine the relationship between exchange rates and interest rates, that is close to completion.
The continued impact of Lothian’s scholarship is reflected in rankings by his peers, said Iftekhar Hasan, Fordham’s E. Gerald Corrigan Chair in International Business and Finance. Lothian has more than 3,000 top citations in the field, Hasan said.
“He’s number 5 when it comes to the ranking overall in the world with regard to the subject of money, and when it comes to the subject of money and financial history, he ranks number 8 in the world,” Hasan said. “This is the personal impact he has made as a researcher.”
The award and recognition of his work was “tremendously satisfying,” Lothian said.