Transforming Lives - Rockhurst University

By Jamie Sievering, ’06 MBAHe has worked for the World Bank, finished a master’s degreefrom Harvard in one year and lets his 11-year-old son invest in thestock market. You might say Sudhakar Raju, Ph.D., sets his goals high.As a professor of finance, he has high expectations for his students as well.Sudhaker Raju, Ph.D.,professor of finance,is a certified risk managerand has been publishedin many of the profession’sleading journals. He has served as aconsultant for the World Bank, UnitedNations Development Program,Bahrain Stock Exchange, ChicagoBoard of Trade and others.Born and raised in Madras, India,Raju attended India’s Loyola University,a Jesuit school considered amongthe elite institutions in the country.He came to the United States in 1983to pursue a graduate degree at theUniversity of Toledo. He later earnedhis Ph.D. in finance and economicsfrom Northern Illinois University.At Rockhurst, he brings hisexpertise and real-world experienceinto the classroom, where he teachesfinance to undergraduates andMBA students.Raju spent his sabbatical in2006-07 earning a master’s degreein public administration and publicpolicy from Harvard’s KennedySchool of Government. He knewthe program would be crowded withsome of the heavy hitters in the worldof public policy. He’d heard theKennedy School educates more of theworld’s leaders than anywhere else.While the Harvard Business Schooltrains people to run companies, hesaid, the Kennedy School trainspeople to run countries.“We had some very challengingcoursework,” he says. “The expectationswere extraordinarily high.”It didn’t take long for him to meethis classmates and realize just howprominent they were. There werefinance ministers, economists andstock exchange directors from variouscountries, corporate CEOs anddiplomats. Among his professorswere a former member of the Councilof Economic Advisors, a chiefeconomist of the World Bank and adeputy director of the U.S. SecuritiesRegulatory Commission. One ofhis colleagues on a group projectapologized for having to miss ameeting — he had to travel to NewYork to close a billion-dollar dealfor his company.12 Ro c k h u r s t4s p r i n g 2008