AQ Bridge Class of 2008

Qualifications of the entering class:

From the sizeable pool of interested candidates, we offered admission to eleven candidates, all with PhDs in Economics and all but one holding academic positions. Six of the candidates accepted our offer and five deferred their enrollment to a later year. All six enrolled candidates successfully graduated and were awarded the AQ certificate by AACSB qualifying them for tenure track positions in Finance. The entering qualifications of the class of 2008 are listed below:

• Dr. Robert Beach: PhD in Economics, Virginia Tech.
• Dr. Dharmendra Dhakal: PhD in Economics, Southern Illinois University.
• Dr. Mohamadou Fadiga: PhD in Agricultural and Applied Economics, Texas Tech University.
• Dr. Zhen Liu: PhD in Economics, Stony Brook University (SUNY).
• Dr. Shabnam Mousavi: PhD in Economics, PhD in Statistics, Virginia Tech.
• Dr. Charles Sebuharara: PhD in Economics, Binghamton University (SUNY).

Some quotes from the class upon graduation:

"I am happy I made the investment. The sequence, content and organization of the program were well thought through and proved effective for my purpose of transitioning to Finance in the quickest way imaginable. I recommend the program to those who are considering making this transition."

"The AQ Bridge program is a great and innovative program. It has been an eye opening experience and exceeded my expectation."

"Outstanding and dedicated faculty. It is an excellent and revolutionary program. I would recommend it to anybody."

"A very informative, well organized program with extremely talented faculty members who are easily accessible. I learned a lot and highly recommend the program."

Current placement status of the AQ graduates as of October 2009:

Below is the current placement status of the 2008 class:

• Dr. Mousavi was hired as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Finance Department at Georgia State University.
• Dr. Sebuharara was hired as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Finance Department at Virginia Tech for 2008-2009. He is currently in the job market.
• Dr. Dhakal was obliged to return to his position as Associate Professor of Economics at Tennessee State University because his admission to our AQ Bridge Program was funded by his College. He received a significant raise on his return and was given the responsibility of developing minor in Finance within the Economics program.
• Dr. Beach has accepted a part-time position to teach at East Tennessee State University starting in January, 2010.
• Dr. Fadiga has taken a senior research position with the International Livestock Research Institute based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Dr. Fadiga holds doctorates in both Economics and Veterinary Medicine.
• Dr. Liu joined as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at University of Buffalo, a position he had accepted just prior to enrolling in our AQ Bridge Program. He has subsequently been offered a tenure track position in the Department.