Empowering Future-Ready Students
Pride of PNW: Pat Obi, Ph.D.
Pat Obi, White Lodging Endowed Professor of Finance in the College of Business, has a passion for teaching and student engagement. Extensive international research experience and a commitment to mentorship help create a dynamic and enriching learning environment for his students.
“I look forward to spending time with students both in the classroom and in my office,” says Obi. “Being in a position to mentor, coach, challenge, encourage and empower students is my most fulfilling experience as an educator.”
Part of Obi’s goal is to prepare students to be future-ready. That includes the innovative use of social media to supplement his classroom instruction and provide accessible and engaging content. His YouTube channel features more than 200 videos on finance, statistics and econometrics and allows him to reach a global audience and provide informative content to students everywhere.
His commitment to providing students with exceptional learning opportunities as well as self-improvement, led him to earn an Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) certification. The certification recognizes faculty members that have demonstrated comprehensive knowledge and skills across all of the core teaching competencies and emphasizes Obi’s commitment to enhancing his teaching skills.
Obi’s areas of interest include corporate financial analysis and valuation; econometric modeling and analysis; financial market, institutions and risk management; futures, options and swaps and personal financial education. His current research examines how financial market variables play a role in how international tourism development affects economic growth.
An international scholar, Obi has presented in over 60 countries, participated in the Carnegie Africa Diaspora Linkage Program at the University of Ghana, and was the recipient of research awards from the Institute for Business and Finance Research, the Global Business and Technology Association and the Global Business Conference. He was an Erasmus Scholar at Lithuania Business College where he received an honorary doctorate and had the university’s auditorium named after him.
In addition to his role at PNW, he is a financial consultant for the City of Hammond.
Being in a position to mentor, coach, challenge, encourage and empower students is my most fulfilling experience as an educator.
Pat Obi, Ph.D., White Lodging Professor of Finance
How do you inspire your students at PNW?
I share personal stories about my struggles and experiences as a student, especially in math-type courses, such as statistics and finance. I flunked statistics the first time I took it, in part because I had a professor who cared very little.
It wasn’t until I was in graduate school that I discovered the great benefit of having student mentors. They helped me overcome my math weakness and their encouragement and guidance buoyed me to do something I never thought possible – I chose finance and econometrics (a field of applied statistics) as my doctoral field of study.
What piece of advice do you typically share with new students?
First, be open to mentoring a fellow student in areas in which you have strength. There’s always something you know better than someone else. Helping is empowering and has the added benefit of improving one’s own understanding of the subject.
Second, be humble enough to ask for help from others, especially fellow students. Students are often in the best position to explain things in ways other students can relate.
Finally, be careful to choose a college major that will lead to a career that promises to be exciting and rewarding.
What is something about you most people don’t know?
I love old-school cartoons like Bugs Bunny, Tom & Jerry, Popeye the Sailor and Woody Woodpecker.
The Pride of PNW series highlights Purdue Northwest researchers, scientists and practitioners from around the world who are driving change in their fields.
