Pitt Honors Diane K. Denis as Terrence Laughlin Chair in Finance

PITTSBURGH—The University of Pittsburgh and the Bank of America Charitable Foundation today announced Diane K. Denis as the Terrence Laughlin Chair in Finance at the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and College of Business Administration. This new chair was established at Pitt with the foundation’s $2 million gift made in memory of Terrence “Terry” Laughlin, former University trustee and vice chairman of Bank of America’s wealth management businesses, who passed away 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. Congratulations to Pitt and to Professor Denis.”

“We were very proud to have Terry as an alumnus and benefited from his vast knowledge during his engagement as a member of the Katz Board of Visitors,” said Arjang A. Assad, the Henry E. Haller Jr. Dean of Katz and the College of Business Administration. “The Laughlin Chair and the generosity of Bank of America afford us a unique opportunity to recognize Diane’s standing in the field of finance and her significant contributions to the school.”

Denis, a professor of business administration, 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, where she was the Duke Realty Chair, 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. She also serves on the editorial boards of several scholarly journals in finance and has published widely in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, corporate diversification and related areas of corporate governance within finance.

“I am deeply honored to be the inaugural holder of the Terrence Laughlin Chair in Finance,” Denis said. “Mr. Laughlin’s strong personal values and his highly successful career embodied everything we value and seek to instill in our students, alumni and faculty. I am proud to carry his name forward.”