Pepperdine Announces Levon Goukasian as Inaugural Singleton Chair in Finance

Seaver College finance professor Levon Goukasian has been named the Singleton Chair in Finance, thanks to a generous gift from Seaver College alumnus Will Singleton (‘84) to establish the endowed position.

The gift provides a financial stipend for the chair holder to develop a program that promotes financial literacy for students in grades K-12 and encourages universities and other institutions to get involved in the push for financial literacy.

“As a Pepperdine alum, I naturally wish to support the school, along with other educational institutions with which we have a connection,” explains Singleton, whose daughter, Lucy, is a Seaver College junior.

Goukasian, the new chair’s first appointed occupant, has been a professor of finance at Pepperdine for the last eight years.

“Professor Goukasian has a background in finance and economics that makes him ideally suited to the position,” Singleton adds. “His extensive knowledge and research efforts in the field, together with his passion for teaching and recognized excellence in that regard, will prove to make a difference not only to his students, but to the Pepperdine community as a whole.”

Goukasian holds a bachelor’s degree from Yerevan State University in Armenia, and two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California, where he previously taught. He was also a senior hedge specialist at the Risk Management Department of Countrywide Financial Corp. Beyond financial literacy education, his research interests include corporate social responsibility and the importance of investment strategy.