Christopher W. Anderson

Christopher W. Anderson is an accomplished scholar, experienced teacher, and engaged leader at the University of Kansas and its host community of Lawrence, Kansas. A native of Council Bluffs, Iowa, Anderson attended Creighton Preparatory School in Omaha, Nebraska, the University of Iowa for bachelor's and master's degrees in business and economics, and the University of Pittsburgh for a Ph.D. in financial economics. Before joining the KU Anderson taught at the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Missouri-Columbia, and before his academic career he worked as a financial analyst in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Anderson studies capital markets, corporate finance, international finance, and real estate. He has published in many of the most prestigious journals in academic finance, including Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Financial Intermediation, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Empirical Finance, Journal of Banking & Finance, Journal of Financial Research, The Financial Review, Journal of Real Estate Finance & Economics, Journal of Real Estate Research, and Journal of Real Estate Portfolio Management. Anderson teaches classes in international finance, corporate finance, and real estate investing. As a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Anderson structures his undergraduate and MBA classes to combine insights from academic research with state-of-the-art pedogogy and business practice. He also co-directs KU's affiliation with the CFA Institute and routinely sponsors students for CFA scholarships. He has mentored several doctoral students who now enjoy thriving careers as professors at business schools across the U.S. Anderson currently serves as Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at the KU School of Business. In this position he directs the B.S.B., B.B.A., and Business Minor programs. Additional responsibilities include oversight of Academic Advising, Career Services, the Business Honors Program, the Business Leadership Program, the Multiculural Business Scholars Program, and the Business Communication Center. He formerly was active in several service and leadership roles within the School of Business, including the P&T Committee, Undergraduate Team, MBA Team, Dean Search Committee, Faculty Research Evaluation & Development Team, Faculty Advisory Committee to the dean, Faculty Advisory Committee to the federal grant-funded Center for International Business Education & Research, the School's United Way Campaign, and multiple faculty search committees. At the University level Anderson has been a member of the University Senate Athletic Committee, the KU Core Curriculum Committee, the University Senate Organization & Administration Committee, and the mentoring program for KU's student athletes. Anderson speaks Portuguese and Spanish, and he has begun studying Chinese. He has frequently led MBA students to Brazil on project-based study abroad experiences involving U.S. and Brazilian firms across a variety of industries. He has also enjoyed professional and scholarly experiences in Chile, Ecuador, Japan, and China, and he recently was a visiting scholar at Chongqing University. He is active in interdisciplinary scholarship with the Center of Latin American & Caribbean Studies, the Center for East Asian Studies, and the Center for Global & International Studies. He sponsors the Portuguese for the Professions scholarship program at KU. Anderson lives in Lawrence with his wife Shari, their three children John (18), Ethan (16), and Rosey (9), and a recently adopted German shepherd puppy named Loki. He is active in several community organizations, including the Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center's Investment Committee, the Lawrence Schools Foundation Board of Trustees, Boy Scout Troop 52, and Saint John the Evangelist Catholic Church & School. He enjoys golf, scouting, classic films, and fiction.