John F. O. Bilson Named Dean of the Illinois Tech Stuart School of Business
Chicago – November 09, 2016 – John Bilson, professor and director of the Master of Science in Finance program, was honored at an investiture ceremony as the John and Mae Calamos Stuart School of Business Dean Endowed Chair at Illinois Institute of Technology. He succeeded Harvey Kahalas, the previous dean and chair holder who retired as dean in May 2016.
Before coming to the Stuart School, Bilson held a number of top management positions, including that of senior vice president of The Chicago Corporation, where he was responsible for establishing the financial futures trading group, TCC Futures Management.
Bilson began his academic career at Northwestern University, and has held research, teaching, visiting, and administrative appointments at the University of Melbourne, International Monetary Fund, University of Chicago, the National Bureau of Economic Research, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, and the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace.
He has published more than 70 articles in the areas of international finance, international economics, and risk management, and is coeditor of the book Exchange Rate Theory and Practice, published by the University of Chicago Press in 1984.
Bilson received a Ph.D. in Economics (1976) from the University of Chicago, and an M.Ec. (1973) and a B.E. with Honors (1971) from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia. Under his direction, the Stuart School of Business Master of Science in Finance program has ranked 3rd in the United States and 35th globally by the Financial Times (2016).
Bilson said he was excited by the prospect of leveraging Illinois Tech’s outstanding reputation in the fintech community to forge new partnerships with industry.
“Illinois Tech has been at the forefront of meeting the needs of industry with technology savvy students for many years and will continue to do so in the future,” said Bilson. “Businesses hire our students because they are exposed to multiple disciplines—engineering, design, science, and law—that enable them to thrive in dynamic, entrepreneurial environments.”
Illinois Tech has become the university of choice for hiring into financial markets and is well-positioned to do so in other industries” he adds. “Generous support from alumni like Mr. Calamos enable the university to fulfill the promise to continue to graduate top talent in finance, business, analytics, sustainability, management science, and public administration.”
“Universities and philanthropists have continued to endow chairs to support the research, teaching and service of the most distinguished faculty. This is a critical tradition to have been upheld,” said Frances Bronet, provost. “Endowed chairs are key to supporting the work of a University overall by being a central way we are able to retain and recruit the very best. And they’re a concrete demonstration of the value the institution places on a particular field and investigation. These bring prestige to all of us.”
As a part of Illinois Tech, the Stuart School of Business shares the university’s emphasis on applied, technical education. Stuart’s full- and part-time degree programs include: Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.), Master of Public Administration (M.P.A.), Master of Technological Entrepreneurship, and Master of Science (M.S.) degrees in Finance, Marketing Analytics, Management Science, and Sustainability Management. Stuart also offers a Master’s in Mathematical Finance, and a Ph.D. in Management Science.
ABOUT ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: Illinois Institute of Technology, also known as Illinois Tech, is a private, technology-focused research university, located in Chicago, offering undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, architecture, business, design, human sciences, applied technology, and law. One of 21 institutions that comprise the Association of Independent Technological Universities (AITU), Illinois Tech offers exceptional preparation for professions that require technological sophistication, an innovative mindset, and an entrepreneurial spirit. Visit www.iit.edu.
