Moffett Family Foundation to Elevate OU Finance Professorship to Endowed Chair

The University of Oklahoma has received a significant gift from the Moffett Family Foundation to augment the David Moffett Professorship of Corporate Finance in the Michael F. Price College of Business. The gift will elevate the position to the status of an endowed chair. The professorship is currently held by Lubomir “Lubo” Litov, an associate professor of finance in the Price College of Business.

“Endowed faculty positions are important tools that help us recruit and retain the brightest and most talented educators and researchers,” said OU President Joseph Harroz Jr. “The Moffett Family Foundation’s remarkable gift not only pays tribute to Professor Litov’s extraordinary work, it is an excellent way to ensure Price College’s enduring legacy of world-class education and scholarship.”

The namesake of the newly upgraded chair position is David Moffett, an OU alumnus who graduated with a bachelor of arts in economics in 1974. The Moffett Family Foundation established the professorship in 2016.

Moffett is the retired Vice Chairman and CFO of U.S. Bank and the former CEO of Freddie Mac. He is currently a member of multiple corporate boards, such as CSX and PayPal. He sits on the OU Foundation Board of Trustees and the Price College Board of Advisors. Moffett is also a founding member of the Arthur B. Adams Society and a member of the Seed Sower Society.

Litov’s work focuses on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, venture capital, private equity, investment banking, corporate bankruptcy and more. He has published research in the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Management Science and others. Each fall semester, Moffett co-teaches a corporate finance course with Litov.

“David Moffett has been a tremendous friend to the Michael F. Price College of Business, giving both his time and resources for the benefit of our students and faculty,” said Corey Phelps, dean of the Price College of Business. “His incredibly generous gift to the ‘Lead On’ campaign to augment the David Moffett Chair of Corporate Finance will provide significant resources to retain an exceptional finance faculty member who will help Price College broaden the boundaries of business education and prepare the next generation of business leaders our state and country need.”