Denis named to new Laughlin Chair in Finance

Diane K. Denis, a professor of business administration, has been named the inaugural Terrence Laughlin Chair in Finance at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration.

This new chair was established with a $2 million gift from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation in memory of Terrence “Terry” Laughlin, former University trustee and vice chairman of Bank of America’s wealth management businesses, who died in October 2018. 

Laughlin earned his MBA from Katz in 1981 and later joined its Board of Visitors. In 2007, he joined the University’s Board of Trustees, where he served on several committees and chaired the investment committee from 2013 until 2018.  

“Terry Laughlin was a leader in American finance who tackled some of the most interesting opportunities and challenges our industry faced in the last three decades,” said Brian Moynihan, Bank of America CEO. “Terry cherished his Pittsburgh roots, and his Bank of America teammates are proud to support the University of Pittsburgh and the Laughlin chair.”

Denis most recently held the Katz Alumni Chair in Finance. She joined Pitt in 2011 and previously spent 16 years on the faculty at Purdue University and six years at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She was named the Eastern Finance Association Distinguished Scholar in 2016 and is a fellow of the Drexel Center for Corporate Governance.