Jarrad Harford
Foster School of Business
University of Washington
“Professor Harford has shaped the finance learning experience for thousands of undergraduates. By holding students to high standards while making finance concepts accessible and interesting, he has helped generations of students develop the confidence and skills to succeed in business. His evaluations are consistently off the charts (literally…5.1 adjusted median on a 5.0 scale) and he has won multiple Professor of the Year Awards, both those awarded by students and those awarded by his Finance colleagues. Amazingly, he has maintained his excellence in the classroom and outstanding publishing record while being chair of the Finance Department, co-authoring a leading textbook, and serving as editor of a leading journal.” – Frank Hodge, dean
Jarrad Harford, 53, is the Paul Pigott – PACCAR Professor of Finance at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business, where he recently completed a 12-year term as Department Chair. He earned his PhD in Finance with a minor in Organizations and Markets at the University of Rochester, and his B.S. in Finance at the Pennsylvania State University. His teaching focuses on core finance and acquisition analysis. Jarrad has won 17 teaching awards across various levels, but primarily in the undergraduate program, where he focuses his teaching.
Jarrad currently serves as a Managing Editor of the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. In the past, he has served as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Financial Economics, the Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Corporate Finance. Jarrad’s primary research areas are mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and payout policy, and he has published more than 40 papers on these topics in top finance journals. Jarrad has co-authored Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, with Jonathan Berk and Peter DeMarzo, now in its 6th edition (Pearson).
BACKGROUND
At current institution since what year? 2001
Education: B.S. Penn State University, MS and PhD University of Rochester
List of Undergraduate courses you teach: Business Finance (Core Finance for Undergrads)
TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR
I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when … Well, I grew up in a college town, so I gave graduate school a try, but I wasn’t sure until I taught my first review session as a grad student. I’m a naturally introverted person, but there was something energizing being up there explaining foundational concepts and starting to see heads nod as the students got it.
What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? The role of partisan workforces in shaping M&A—I was surprised to see the stark drop-off in mergers between “blue” and “red” firms starting about 10-15 years ago. Our increasing divisions have even impacted who merges with whom.
If I weren’t a business school professor, I’d be … a software engineer turned venture capitalist. I was really into coding in high school and college and almost went that route. Maybe in an alternative universe, I’m a tech billionaire!
What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I think the students appreciate how much I truly care that they get the understanding—the why—not just the how. I try to meet everyone where they are as learners, and make it clear that all questions are welcome and appreciated.
One word that describes my first time teaching: Energizing
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: How rewarding it is to be a part of so many students’ journeys, and how great it is to hear from them later in life as they take their business education and do amazing things!
Professor I most admire and why: Ed Rice—one of my colleagues who recently retired. He is a deep thinker who cared a lot about students’ level of understanding of the core concepts of business economics. He is always learning himself–even in retirement, he still comes to seminars!
TEACHING BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS
What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? It has to be the aha moments, when I’m able to explain something in a way that clicks for the student and it all comes together for them—they see the connections among the concepts. And, as I mentioned above, hearing from them later as they advance in their careers.
What is most challenging? Fighting for attention in a very distracting world. When I went to college, if we wanted to zone-out in class, our best option was to do a crossword! I’ve been teaching long enough to see the full evolution from that era to today’s constantly connected student.
In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Curious
In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Disengaged
When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as … fair
LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
What are your hobbies? Hiking, traveling with my family, and increasingly, golfing with my sons
How will you spend your summer? Good question – our youngest just went off to college, so this will be our first summer without summer swim league swim meets and water polo matches. Maybe I’ll get more hiking in, or travel to visit our older son wherever he’s interning.
Favorite place(s) to vacation: Palm Springs or anywhere my family wants to go!
Favorite book(s): For business/finance: A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel, and the Big Short by Michael Lewis. For fun, the Delta-V series by Daniel Suarez because he explores the realities of a near future space-mining economy in the context of a thrilling fiction narrative.
What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I really enjoy all things sci-fi, and so I’ve just finished Season 3 of Foundation, which is based on the Asimov books I read as a teenager. The movie I’m really looking forward to is Project Hail Mary, coming out in March. It’s the movie adaptation of Andy Weir’s follow-up book to The Martian.
What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? I came of age in the 80s and 90s, so that’s my genre, including fellow Seattleite, Dave Matthews.
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this: More freedom from the central university be nimble and experimental. With that, we need to be focusing on how to leverage AI so as to not let it replace you, along with a bigger emphasis on understanding concepts at a deep level rather than simply knowing how to do specific tasks.
In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at … continuous communication with business schools about what they will need from a successful graduate in the quickly evolving age of AI.
I’m grateful for … all the mentoring, advice and support I’ve received from so many colleagues over the years. Being a business school professor really is the best job, but there’s a steep learning curve and I’m grateful to all the people who helped me along the way, including my parents, who showed me the value of education. I’m also immensely grateful to my wife, a true partner in every sense of the word, who’s always been an amazing source of advice and encouragement.
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