Lindner College of Business Doctoral Student Recognized for Diversity in Higher Education

Haimanot Kassa, PhD ’13, was recognized by The PhD Project as a testament to its mission to create a more diverse corporate America through diversity in higher education.

Kassa, who just completed his dissertation “Three Essays in Finance” at UC’s Carl H. Lindner College of Business, is one of only 52 African-American males in the country to become a finance professor since The PhD Project began in 1994. He recieved the 2013 Lindner College of Business Outstanding Doctoral Student Research Award. He will join the faculty at Miami University of Ohio.

The nonprofit PhD Project was founded by the KPMG Foundation and recruits minority professionals from business into doctoral programs in all business disciplines. Since its inception, The PhD Project has facilitated the increase in the number of minority business professors from 294 to 1,191.

Bernard J. Milano, president of The PhD Project and the KPMG Foundation, says Kassa is a success story.

“The PhD Project takes great pride in his achievement, and looks forward to following his success throughout his career,” says Milano, founder and principal financial supporter of the program.

Last year, professor Ralph Katerberg, head of the Department of Management at Lindner College of Business, was inducted into The PhD Project Hall of Fame. Katerberg was among three professors inducted in November 2012 for helping to create diversity in academia.