World’s Best B-School Professors: Aswath Damodaran

 

Aswath Damodaran

Stern School of Business

Claim to Fame: Finance expert

Education:

UCLA, PhD, Finance

UCLA, MBA, Finance

Indian Institute of Management; MS, Management

Madras University, BCom, Accounting

At Stern Since: 1986

Before Stern: Visiting lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley

Fun Fact: I used to teach tennis before I started teaching finance.

If I wasn’t teaching, my dream job would be: Playing shortstop for the Yankees.

Best part of the job: Having a captive audience for my shtick and then getting to review that audience (with grades). Making a difference in how people think about numbers/finance and being my own boss.

Worst part of the job: Assigning a substandard grade to someone who has learned a great deal but may not have been able to show that in tests/exams/reports.

When Professor Aswath Damodaran sets out to teach a class or give a lecture, his goal is to convert each student into a born again finance enthusiast. Damodaran’s passion for teaching finance has garnered him high marks for teaching excellence. In 1988 and 1990 he was presented with Stern’s Excellence in Teaching Award and NYU’s Distinguished Teaching Award, respectively. The impression he has left on MBA students over the years is demonstrated by his repeated rank as the leading vote-getter for Professor of the Year, an award he has received five times during his career at Stern.

Professor Damodaran’s enthusiasm stems from his research and interests in the areas of valuation, corporate finance, and investment management. He has written several key texts on these topics; texts which are highly regarded and widely used throughout academia. In 2011 he partnered with Anant Sundaram from the Tuck School of Business to create an iPad app for investors. uValue is a free valuation tool available for investors on iTunes.

Students Say:

What I find amazing about Professor Damodaran is his accessibility. He makes himself available to speak with students, not only immediately before and after class, but also nearly anywhere or anytime he is on campus. And when he’s not on campus he often responds to emails within minutes, no matter the day or time or where he might be in the world at that particular moment. — Michael Tarulli – MBA Class of 2011

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