Christiansen honored with Christopher J. Campbell Distinguished Alumni Award

Barbara Ash

For his ardent and longtime support of the Florida State University Master of Business Administration program, Dr. William Christiansen received the Christopher J. Campbell Distinguished Alumni Award at the spring Master’s Hooding Ceremony.

 Since 2006, the FSU College of Business MBA program has annually awarded an MBA alumnus or friend of the program who has distinguished himself or herself in service to universities, governments, private sector firms and/or nongovernmental organizations. The recipient is highly distinguished in his or her business profession or life’s work, has made significant community service contributions, exemplifies leadership and has high ethical standards.

Since joining the college in 1983, Christiansen, chair of the Department of Finance, has spent numerous hours inside and outside of the classroom assisting MBA students. Recently, he presented talks on current economic issues at MBA recruitment and alumni receptions, which were hosted annually  for several years by the MBA Early Career Board in Atlanta, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tallahassee and Tampa.

Christiansen’s class, Economics and Business Conditions Analysis, has long been considered one of the best classes taught in the College of Business.  He won the MBA Professor of the Year Award seven times and, in 2008, received the University Distinguished Teacher Award, the first time a faculty member in the college had won this prestigious award.  Additionally, he was the first faculty member in the college to be awarded the University Guardian of the Flame Award, a recognition also granted by the student body.  Christiansen’s interactions continue long after graduation through his various communications with MBA graduates who reside throughout the world. 

“Dr. Christiansen has been a real friend and advocate of our MBA program and our MBA students,” said Dr. Douglas Stevens, faculty MBA program director. “He brings his knowledge of economics and financial institutions into the classroom, and this is invaluable to our students.  He has gone out of his way to ensure that when they graduate, our students are prepared on many levels to succeed as leaders in their fields.  He exemplifies what this award is about.”

“I have always enjoyed my interaction with our students,” Christiansen said. “It is enjoyable and rewarding to watch each student learn and grow.   I also enjoy staying in touch with our graduates and monitoring their progress and success. I feel very fortunate to have taught many students at FSU, and I hope to teach many more in the future.”

During his tenure at the college, Christiansen has overseen several major initiatives that have significantly improved the educational experience for the university’s finance majors. They include the establishment of the department's SunTrust Visiting Speaker Series and Conference, the creation of two new research centers,  a restructuring of the Ph.D. program in finance, a student investment fund, a student trading room and the development of a new Master of Science in Finance program.

When the college launched its “War paint for today’s business world” advertising campaign, his picture was profiled in various magazines and periodicals.  This led to more than 1,000 contacts from MBA graduates, families, current students, faculty and other friends of FSU and Christiansen. 

Christiansen earned his B.A. in economics and Asian studies from Brigham Young University, his M.S. in economics and business, also at Brigham Young, and his Ph.D. in economics and finance from the University of Utah, with an emphasis on financial institutions and markets.

His teaching and research interests include financial institutions, commercial bank management, pension funds, bank regulatory theory, information economics, real estate finance, macroeconomic theory and policy, bank runs and failures, comparative financial and economic systems, and Asian economic issues.

The award was named after alumnus Christopher J. Campbell in recognition of his strong support of the MBA program, which included conducting mock interviews with every MBA student. Campbell earned an MBA from FSU in 1992, and is director for telecommunications for the State of Florida.