Merrill Appointed New Finance Chair

PROVO, Utah – Jun 28, 2019 – BYU Marriott School of Business dean Brigitte C. Madrian appointed Craig Merrill as the new chair of the finance department. Merrill assumed the position on 1 June 2019.

“Craig is an experienced leader at the school and university,” Madrian says. “We are confident in his abilities to collaborate with the finance faculty to continue distinguishing the department and program.”

Merrill, the Second Mile Professor of Finance and former MBA program director at BYU Marriott, has been a member of the faculty for more than twenty-five years. He teaches derivations, financial risk management, and fixed-income asset management for BYU Marriott. Merrill’s work is published in peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Finance, the Strategic Management Journal, and the Journal of Risk and Insurance. Merrill received his BA in economics from BYU before earning a master’s degree and a PhD in financial economics at the University of Pennsylvania.

“I hope that in taking my turn as chair, I can follow my predecessors’ examples of focusing on creating opportunities for faculty members to excel in their roles as model learners for our students,” Merrill says.

Merrill follows Andrew Holmes, who recently completed his third term as the finance chair. During his time at BYU Marriott, Holmes played a crucial role in the development of the finance program. He has also been the recipient of the school’s Teaching Excellence Award and the Citizenship Award.

“Andrew has been a champion for the finance faculty, students, and program,” Madrian says. “The department was relatively new when Andrew became chair, and we are grateful for the strong foundation he’s helped build for the future.”

The BYU Marriott School of Business prepares men and women of faith, character, and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Named for benefactors J. Willard and Alice S. Marriott, the school is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. BYU Marriott has four graduate and ten undergraduate programs with an enrollment of approximately 3,300 students.