UA Business School Names Ole Miss Professor to Camp Endowed Chair in Finance and Investments

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. Douglas O. Cook, an associate professor in the department of finance at the University of Mississippi, has been appointed to the Ehney A. Camp, Jr. Endowed Chair in Finance and Investments at the Culverhouse College of Commerce at The University of Alabama.

The chair is named in honor of the late Ehney A. Camp Jr., a long-time executive with Liberty National Life Insurance Co. of Birmingham and the firm’s first investment officer. He is one of the persons credited with increasing the company’s assets to more than $1 billion. Liberty National is now a part of Torchmark Corp.

Camp was one of the state’s best-known executives and a graduate of The University of Alabama. His son, Ehney A. Camp III, is a member of the business school’s board of visitors.

Dr. Billy Helms, head of the department of economics, finance, and legal studies, said, “Filling this chair is another important step in driving this department to national prominence. Dr. Cook is a nationally recognized figure in the areas of corporate finance and financial markets and institutions. His unique blend of professional experience and academic research will bring a new dimension to the department, the business school and the university.”

Cook received his Bachelor of Science degree in zoology and his M.B.A. degree in finance from the University of Michigan. He earned his doctorate in finance from the University of Texas at Austin.

He has been at the University of Mississippi since 1995. Prior to that, he was a Senior Fellow at the Wharton Financial Institutions Center at the University of Pennsylvania. Cook has served the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a financial economist and has taught at the University of Colorado at Boulder and at the University of Texas at Austin. His professional experience includes several years with the Sara Lee Corp. and Ford Motor Co.

Cook has authored or co-authored a number of research articles in leading academic journals such as the Journal of Finance, Journal of Business, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Review of Financial Studies, Financial Management and Journal of Banking and Finance.

“We are extremely thankful to the Camp family for making this chair possible and for the generous support they have shown for the College and University over the years through an endowed scholarship. Mr. Camp was a 1928 graduate of the University and finished with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. His legacy of scholarship and leadership will be continued through this chair in finance,” said Dr. J. Barry Mason, dean of the business school.

The UA undergraduate business program at the Culverhouse College of Commerce, is ranked 53rd nationally by U.S. News and World Report. The undergraduate accounting program at the Culverhouse School of Accountancy is ranked number 25 nationally in the latest Public Accounting Report rankings.

The Manderson Graduate School of Business at The University of Alabama is ranked 31st among public M.B.A. Programs and No. 61 overall among full-time M.B.A. programs in the just-released rankings by U.S. News and World Report. Alabama placed 65th in last year’s rankings and 76th the year before. Forbes magazine recently released its rankings of M.B.A. programs placing the Manderson Graduate School of Business at 46th overall among full-time M.B.A. programs and 20th among public M.B.A. programs nationwide.

The marketing program is ranked 22nd in the nation in a study that assesses the influence of marketing articles, scholars and institutions. The study was published in the Summer 2003 issue of The American Marketing Association. In addition, the business school’s entrepreneurship program is ranked in the top 100 by Entrepreneur magazine.