The Department of Finance has added two full-time faculty members and one visiting professor. The School of Accountancy augmented its faculty with the addition of three full-time adjunct faculty members.
“It is vital that new tenure-track faculty members are energetic and skillful in both teaching and research. Our two additions, Paul Brockman and Sandra Mortal, certainly possess those attributes,” said Dan French, chair of the Department of Finance.
The six new hires include:
Paul Brockman, State Farm Risk Management Fellow and associate professor of finance, joined MU following academic appointments at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and the University of Manitoba. His teaching interests include corporate finance, international finance, derivative securities, and risk management. Before pursuing a PhD, he worked as an accountant, cash manager, and futures and options trader.
Brockman’s primary research interests include capital markets, market microstructure, and corporate finance. His research has been published in numerous journals, including the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Banking and Finance. Brockman received a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Ohio State University and a PhD degree in finance from Louisiana State University.
Sandra Mortal comes to MU as an assistant professor of finance from Northern Illinois University. She has taught corporate finance and survey of investments courses. Her primary research interests include market microstructure and corporate finance.
Mortal’s professional activities include serving as a referee for the Journal of Corporate Finance and the Journal of Business and as a presenter at the Financial Management Association meetings. She received her undergraduate education at Universidade Católica Portuguesa. She then earned an MBA degree at the University of Central Florida and a PhD degree from the University of Georgia.
Chris Prestigiacomo
joined the college’s faculty as a full-time adjunct assistant professor of accountancy after serving 20 years as a faculty member at Stephens College in Columbia. During that time, he served as the business administration department chair and taught courses in accounting, economics, and finance.
Prestigiacomo earned his BS BA, MBA, and PhD degrees from the University of Missouri. He holds the Certified Management Accountant designation and is a Level III Candidate in the Chartered Financial Analyst program. Prestigiacomo is an arbitrator for the National Association of Securities Dealers. He has published articles in the Regional Business Review and Journal of Business and Behavioral Sciences.
Kristen Hockman
is now a full-time adjunct assistant professor after teaching at the MU College of Business as a part-time instructor. Previously, she worked for KPMG LLP, both in Kansas City and the mid-Missouri area.
Hockman teaches auditing theory and practice and computer-based data systems in the School of Accountancy. She
earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accountancy from the University of Missouri. She is a CPA in the state of Missouri.
Penny Kleen, a visiting assistant professor of accountancy, was previously at Quincy University. She taught principles of accounting for the Taiwanese program, as well as other accounting courses. Kleen’s research and teaching interests are primarily in financial and managerial accounting.
She graduated from Illinois State University with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting, and earned her PhD in accountancy from University of Missouri. She is a Certified Public Accountant in Illinois.
Manu Gupta, who is completing his PhD degree in finance at Texas A&M University, is a visiting assistant professor of finance. His research interests include corporate governance, capital formation, and optimal capital structure.
Ken Evans, the college’s associate dean and the Pinkney C. Walker Professor in Teaching Excellence, said that adjunct and visiting faculty members are critical in fulfilling the college’s instructional mission. “We are fortunate in that our adjunct faculty members are hard-working, effective teachers who help us serve a steadily growing number of undergraduate students,” Evans stated.