Fiu Department Of Finance Chairman Leaving After 26 Years To Teach In Cyprus

By Frank Norton
Emmanuel "Manny" Roussakis is leaving Florida International University’s College of Business Administration after 26 years teaching many of South Florida’s top international bankers.

Mr. Roussakis was instrumental in establishing FIU’s banking curriculum and department of finance.

The Greece native will become dean of the School of Business at Intercollege in Nicosia, Cyprus.

"Cyprus has one important similarity with Miami – it has numerous foreign banks and conducts significant international banking business with Eastern European countries and Russia," he said at a reception last week. "In my new appointment, I am looking forward to expanding my international banking experiences and testing the administrative skills I acquired in FIU’s College of Business."

William Welch, associate professor of finance at FIU’s business school, will replace Mr. Roussakis as chairman of the department of finance.

"The building of human capital in this area has been done to a large degree by higher education," said Mr. Welch. "Manny has been that connection point between the university and South Florida’s financial-services industry."

Several academic and banking-industry leaders attended the farewell reception in Coral Gables.

"He’s been very much attuned to what’s going on in the banking community," said Marcos A. Kerbel, former president of Israel Discount Bank who now works for MetLife, "and has contributed many important studies to the international banking community."

Mr. Roussakis joined the university in 1976 and has served as chairman of its Department of Finance and the Florida International Bankers’ Association Endowed Professor of Finance.

In 2000, Mr. Roussakis worked on a Florida International Bankers Association study that international banking generated $3 billion for the state’s economy.

"His work has been very important to legislators and regulators who need to know how important banking is to this economy," said Barnardo Lozano of MFS International Ltd., a former student of Mr. Roussakis’. "The banking industry in the state of Florida has most directly benefited from his developments at the university.

"His publications have played a significant role in placing Miami in the position it is today – as the gateway of the Americas for financial services."

FIU Provost Mark Rosenberg said Mr. Roussakis is "regarded in the finance community as an icon."