Business Professor Celebrates 50 Years at
St. John's University with New Book
For the last half century, Francis A. Lees, Ph.D., a Professor in
Economics and Finance in The Peter J. Tobin College of Business,
has shared his extensive knowledge in areas such as investment
banking, market trading and international finance with his
students, while pursuing successful careers as an author and
consultant to several large businesses and governmental
organizations.
Showing no signs of slowing down, he recently published, “Financial
Exchanges,” a comprehensive analysis of how the 30 largest
exchanges around the world revised their business models to cope
with changing technology, new competition, new markets and
regulatory reforms enacted after the recent financial crisis.
Remarking on his long career, Dr. Lees observed, “The world is an
interesting place and the more I learn, the more I realize I need
to learn.”
Several Careers, One Goal
Dr. Lees first arrived at St. John’s in 1960 after four years
of teaching at Fordham University and a three-year tour of
duty in the U.S. army. He earned his Ph.D. from New York University
in 1961 and worked on Wall Street for a year, before returning to
St. John’s. Since that time, he has held several administrative
positions at the University, published 14 books and monographs and
presented research findings at numerous conferences throughout the
world.
“I’ve been fortunate to have the freedom to do what I wanted to do
— whether it’s research, writing, publishing or consulting. I have
no complaints,” Dr. Lees noted.
He added that St. John’s proximity to Manhattan — the heart of the
world’s financial center has been a great boon to his career. “The
location is very advantageous. You have direct access to people and
institutions.” Dr. Lees also taught French M.B.A. students at the
University’s Manhattan campus when it was still The College of
Insurance.
His many publications led to a parallel career as a consultant.
Free to pursue topics that were critical to understanding
often-volatile market behavior, he has developed an expertise that
has been sought by the Central Bank for Cooperatives, the
Conference Board (New York) and the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA). In 1987, he was awarded a Fulbright Grant to study the
banking and financial systems of Brazil.
Dr. Lees remains strongly committed to teaching and strives to
provide his students with a comprehensive view of world financial
markets and the factors that influence them. He has served as
Assistant Dean in the College of Business and was Chairman of the
Department of Economics and Finance for 16 years. He helped found
the University’s Business Research Institute and was Executive
Director of the Center for Global Education.
“If you’re teaching finance today, there’s an underlying problem of
which we’re all aware — greed and despicable behavior. In our
courses, we discuss the evils of the world and the need to value
ethical standards of conduct. Students need to be aware of these
problems and I try to convey that to them at all times.”