Dr. James Rauch has been named the first Vision Bank endowed professor in banking and finance at East Central University. He will assume a leadership role in strengthening the relationship of the School of Business within the banking and finance community in ECU’s service area.
Officials of Vision Bank and East Central University congratulate Dr. James Rauch (second from left, front row) for his appointment as ECU’s first Vision Bank endowed professor in banking and finance. Vision Bank endowed the professorship in 2007 with a $125,000 gift. Taking part in the presentation are Wendell Godwin (front row, from left), dean of ECU’s School of Business; Rauch; ECU President John Hargrave; Phyllis Kunze, executive director of the ECU Foundation Inc.; and (back row) from Vision Bank, Steve Bagwell, executive vice president and chief lending officer; Jim Hamby, chief executive officer; and Wayne Case, president.
The professorship was established in December 2007 with a $125,000 gift from Vision Bank to the ECU Foundation Inc. Professorship endowments enhance academic programs by providing salary, travel, or research support in addition to the university’s annual support.
Rauch, an assistant professor of business administration, came to ECU in 2004 from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minn., where he had taught since 1998. He taught MBA courses during summers at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. He also was a credit analyst for Green Tree Financial Corporation in St. Paul for a year.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, a master’s degree in monetary economics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Ph.D. in economics from Colorado State University.
The selection of a professor for the Vision Bank Professorship is made by the dean of the School of Business, the vice president for academic affairs and the president of the university.
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