Iowa State University installs holder of Kent Corporation Chair in Business
AMES, Iowa – A medallion ceremony in the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business celebrated the official installation of Iowa State University Finance Professor Paul Koch as the inaugural holder of the Kent Corporation Chair in Business. Iowa State President Wendy Wintersteen and Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Ivy College of Business David Spalding presented the medallions on Friday, April 5, at The Knoll.
The Kent Corporation Chair in Business recognizes a faculty member in the college who demonstrates excellence in their academic field; it was established with a gift from the Kent Corporation Charitable Foundation. Koch’s research and teaching areas include empirical asset pricing, market efficiency, behavioral finance, investments, risk management, international finance, market microstructure and econometrics. He received a Fulbright Research Award in 2000, has numerous publications in premiere academic journals respected around the world and previously had a distinguished career as the O. Maurice Joy Professor of Business at the University of Kansas.
“Named chairs are among the most esteemed positions in academia and bring recognition to the chair holder and the university – they help recruit and retain senior-level scholars who are internationally known and are also wonderful in the classroom with students. This perfectly describes Paul Koch, who is one of the top researchers in the finance field,” said Spalding. “I would like to thank Gage Kent for his service and commitment to Iowa State and the Ivy College of Business. It means a lot that you are helping contribute to one of the most exciting, dynamic periods in the college’s history.”
Gage Kent, a 1983 Iowa State graduate in marketing, was also awarded a donor medallion during the ceremony, in recognition of his company’s generosity in establishing the named position.
“On behalf of the Kent Family and Kent Corporation, I am pleased and honored to facilitate this important endowed chair position. Supporting education at its highest levels through leadership and philanthropy benefits not only students at Iowa State, but also industries in the state of Iowa and beyond,” said Kent, chairman of the board of directors and CEO of Kent Corporation.
Kent Corporation is a diversified, family-owned corporation with operating subsidiaries involved in corn wet milling, the production of animal feeds and the manufacture of food and beverage products. Kent Corporation is owned by the Kent family and led by third-generation family member, Gage A. Kent. Kent operates in 23 locations across 13 states as well as three international locations employing approximately two thousand employees serving customers globally. To learn more about Kent Corporation, please visit https://kentww.com
“We deeply appreciate our long-time partnership with Gage Kent and Kent Corporation,” said Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen. “Their generous support of Iowa State University has impacted all corners of the ISU campus from the Ivy College of Business and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to a recently established presence at the ISU Research Park. We look forward to building on the success of this partnership with a shared goal of excellence in innovation and collaboration.”
The Iowa State University Foundation is a private, nonprofit organization committed to securing and managing gifts that benefit Iowa State University. The Forever True, For Iowa State campaign, with a historic goal to raise $1.5 billion, will help support Iowa State in becoming the premier land-grant university for the 21st century and beyond.
Contact:
Elaine Watkins-Miller, Communications, Iowa State University Foundation, 515.294.1005, ewmiller@foundation.iastate.edu
Carol Reynolds, Kent Corporation, 563.264.4532, carol.reynolds@kentww.com
April 8, 2019