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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Riza Demirer, PhD, professor of finance in the School of Business’ Department of Economics and Finance, has joined a prestigious group of tenured faculty members, achieving the University’s highest academic rank of Distinguished Research Professor. 

The distinction is awarded in recognition of significant contributions to research and creative activities. 

“It is a great honor to receive this special award,” said Demirer. “Research is very personal and requires a lot of dedication, sacrifice and self-motivation, so being recognized with such a special award means a lot to me. The Department of Economics and Finance has a long tradition of high-quality scholarship, and I am happy that I can continue this tradition and hopefully inspire junior faculty.”   

Since joining the School of Business faculty in 2003, Demirer has become an internationally-known and highly-respected scholar in the areas of investor behavior and asset pricing in emerging and frontier stock markets and energy economics/finance. He has written more than 100 papers and has collaborated with over 75 co-authors from think tanks, research centers, universities and governmental institutions in at least 25 countries.

“My finance and engineering background allows me to tackle research questions both from an engineering and social scientist perspective, and this has allowed me to collaborate with a wide range of scholars from different disciplines,” explained Demirer, whose published works and working papers have been cited more than 3,000 times by other researchers.

“Dr. Demirer is a prolific scholar whose work appears in top-tier journals, which have garnered an impressive number of citations and have earned him recognition as a leading expert,” said Jerry Weinberg, PhD, associate provost for research and dean of the SIUE Graduate School. “Dr. Demirer has raised SIUE’s global reputation through his international collaborations and his leadership as a research fellow with the Economic Research Forum, a think tank dedicated to sustainable growth in developing countries.”

Demirer’s research on emerging stock markets and the interaction between energy and financial markets has gained widespread attention, while his work on investor behavior and its asset pricing implications has provided new insights into the effect of herd behavior in financial markets. Additionally, Demirer’s work on the interaction between oil and stock markets has led to a new line of research; many studies now build on Demirer’s findings on the effect of oil market uncertainty on stock market anomalies.

“Dr. Demirer’s research productivity brings great honor and recognition to SIUE and the School of Business,” said School of Business Dean Timothy Schoenecker, PhD. “Scholars from around the globe seek him out for his expertise and to explore potential collaborations. Several years ago, he was selected by a faculty review committee for the School’s inaugural Heitz Faculty Research Award. His accomplishments make him a worthy choice as a Distinguished Research Professor.”

“Not only does Dr. Demirer have an extraordinary research record and program, but his service as a scholar is also impactful and far-reaching, exemplified by his international leadership for high-quality economic research in developing countries,” said Gregory Fields, PhD, distinguished research professor in the Department of Philosophy.

Research Papers in Economics, a research network which focuses solely on economics and finance research, ranks Demirer in the top 5% of the 62,000 members from 102 countries registered on the network. Demirer is proud of this and other rankings, but he is also grateful for the opportunities he has had to collaborate with his students on high-impact publications.

“My research has had a tremendous effect on my teaching as I share the new findings with my students and design class research projects based on the research ideas that come out of my papers,” explained Demirer. “I truly appreciate the research support provided by the School of Business and the Graduate School even during times when they face budgetary restrictions. I think this research focus is another feature that makes SIUE stand out from its peer institutions.”

Photo: SIUE Distinguished Research Professor Riza Demirer, PhD.