Janet Hamilton, Ph.D., C.F.A., is an Associate Professor in the School of Business. Professor Hamilton’s research and teaching interests are in Corporate Finance, with a focus on the interconnections of financial performance, business strategy, and valuation. A common theme in both her research and teaching is the integration of applied learning and curriculum design to cultivate critical thinking skills. This has led to the development of several comprehensive financial strategy cases, often centered on local Portland businesses. Professor Hamilton came to PSU after serving on the faculty at Washington State University and worked as an economist for an energy consulting firm. She has been a faculty member at PSU for over three decades.
Professor Hamilton received her Ph.D. in Business Administration (Finance) from Michigan State University, and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington. She is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and has a strong commitment to the professional investment management community in Portland. Professor Hamilton has been active in governance in the School of Business, serving as Finance Area Director, and has contributed to the development of key School of Business programs including the MBA-Finance option, the development and evolution of the MSF program and the online MBA program.
At PSU, Professor Hamilton has taught a range of courses in corporate finance and investments. She often collaborates with colleagues on interdisciplinary and team-taught courses and case writing. In addition, Professor Hamilton taught courses in finance and served as a Capstone thesis advisor in the Oregon Executive MBA program over its twenty year plus alliance as a joint PSU program with the University of Oregon. An example of Professor Hamilton’s commitment to applied learning is demonstrated by her development of a real-dollar student investment fund curriculum, in partnership with the CFA Society of Portland. The class offers students the opportunity to manage an investment portfolio with the same responsibilities as professional portfolio managers. To this day, students actively manage the portfolio and frequently outperform the market, nearly thirty years later. Her teaching excellence has been recognized with awards from the OEMBA program and the Schools of Business at both PSU and Washington State University.