Installation Ceremony
Posted by Joseph Phillips, Jr. on Sunday, November 23, 2014 at 4:58 PM PST
On November 14th, we installed two new endowed chairholders in the Albers School -- Bridget Hiedemann as the fifteenth holder of the Robert O'Brien Endowed Chair in Business and Suzanne de Jannaez as the eleventh holder of the Thomas Gleed Endowed Chair in Business Administration.
The O'Brien Chair is named after a former PACCAR executive who was a strong supporter of Seattle University in the 1960's and 1970's. It rotates among our current faculty and is held for a two year term. The chair is awarded to support faculty scholarship and activities that enrich the intellectual life of the campus and raise the reputation of the Albers School. Bridget received the chair because of her strong record in teaching, scholarship, and service, in addition to her proposal to organize a family policy seminar series that will bring to campus scholars working on issues related to gender, family, and sexual orientation. Bridget teaches courses in statistics, econometrics, and the economics of gender and family. Her scholarship focuses on labor and demographic economics, and she has published in such journals as The International Economic Review and the American Journal of Public Health. She previously served as the Patricia Wismer Professor of Gender and Diversity Studies at SU.
The Gleed Chair is named after Seattle banker Thomas Gleed, and the chair is a two year visiting position designed to attract an imminent scholar from another institution who will work with Albers faculty members on scholarly projects as well as organize activities that will enhance the reputation of the Albers School. Suzanne was previously on the faculty of the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland. She teaches in the areas of leadership, negotiation, and organizational development. Her scholarship has appeared in the HarvardBusiness Review, Academy of Management Executive, and Journal of Organizational Behavior, and she has published two textbooks. Her activities will include an initiative to support victims of female trafficking and research on mentoring received by CEOs.
Bonnie Buchanan was installed as the fourth holder of the George Albers Professorship in Business. The professorships rotate among our current faculty and are held for three year terms. The Albers Professorships honor the Albers family, which supported Seattle University for many years and in 2001 left a generous endowment to support the activities of the Albers School. The family fortune was made in the food processing business, and the Albers brand is now held by Continental Mills, which uses it for its cornmeal and grits products. Bonnie received the professorship for her strong work in teaching, research, and service. She teaches in the areas of financial markets and institutions, international finance, and history of finance. Her research interests include securitization, law and finance, and shareholder activism. She has published in such journals as the American Business Law Journal, Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, and International Review of Financial Analysis, and she is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Risk Finance.
Endowed chairs and professorships are important tools for attracting and retaining outstanding faculty. In the Albers School, we are fortunate to have five endowed chairs and five professorships that support our faculty. We are also fortunate to have Bridget, Suzanne, and Bonnie as the three new chairholders! Congratulations to Bonnie, Suzanne, and Bridget!