Professor Eckbo Receives Honorary Doctorate from Norwegian School of Economics
Professor B. Espen Eckbo joined a list of Nobel laureates and internationally renowned economists when he received an honorary doctorate from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH) in September.
On September 7, B. Espen Eckbo, the Tuck Centennial Professor of Finance and the founding director of Tuck’s Lindenauer Center for Corporate Governance, joined a list of Nobel laureates and internationally renowned economists when he received an honorary doctorate from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).
According to Jan I. Haaland, the rector at NHH, the title of doctor honoris causa is only bestowed upon scholars who have “distinguished themselves internationally by remarkable academic contributions of the highest quality. They have also contributed to the academic development of our school and to … strengthening our international reputation.”
Throughout his 30-year career of teaching and research, Eckbo has been recognized as a leading thinker in the areas of corporate finance, investment banking, and the market for corporate control. A graduate from NHH, Eckbo has returned to the school regularly since 1989 to teach in its Ph.D. program. In 2005, Eckbo, a native of Norway, assisted the Norwegian Sovereign Wealth Fund, one of the world’s largest institutional shareholders in global equity markets, in designing its corporate governance principles and strategy.
The award ceremony, attended by the King of Norway, was part of NHH’s 75th anniversary celebration. In that time, the school has given only 19 honorary doctorates. Past recipients include Nobel laureate Oliver Williamson and well-known economists Robert Wilson, Jacques Draze, and Avinar Dixit. This year, one of the honorees is Finn Kydland, who received the 2004 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his contributions to dynamic macroeconomics. Eckbo is the first scholar awarded an NHH honorary doctorate for research in financial economics.
Since arriving at Tuck in 1998, Eckbo has taught courses such as Advanced Corporate Finance, International Corporate Governance, and the Research-to-Practice Seminar, Corporate Takeovers: Modern Empirical Developments.
“Professor Eckbo has done pioneering and extremely influential work in corporate finance, particularly in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance,” said senior associate dean Robert Hansen. “His work guides public policy as well as corporate policy, and it is the foundation of many other academic studies. For him to be recognized by NHH is very fitting. It is an honor for Espen and for Tuck as well.”