SW New Mexico News

Committing hard work and dedication to New Mexico State University (NMSU) for 23 years, Harikumar Sankaran focuses on guiding finance scholars toward success by the time they graduate. He is the head of the Finance Department in the College of Business and an active researcher.

“We are like musicians,” he said. “For the audience to appreciate every nuance of the music, we need to keep our instrument tuned (research skills), have good sheet music (knowledge), and be immersed in the music when performing (teaching).”

Sankaran joined NMSU in 2002 after spending 12 years at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and four years at the University of Miami, Florida. He earned his Ph.D. in finance from the University of Houston in 1987.

One key aspect of his work at NMSU involves integrating technology into classrooms.

“With the help of Thornburg Investment Management and Thurman Case, a fellow NMSU alumnus, my colleague Ken Martin and I were able to obtain 12 Bloomberg Terminals for students in the College of Business,” he said. “This state-of-the-art facility enhanced students’ classroom experience and enabled many of them to find lucrative careers. Due to lack of continued funding, this facility was terminated.”

He has collaborated with several graduate students and junior faculty on research papers. The College of Business brown-bag seminars are part of his mentoring efforts.

As department head, Sankaran aims to secure sustained funding to reintroduce these terminals for students. He is revising the curriculum based on feedback from members of the Business Advisory Council.

His research covers topics such as corporate investment efficiency, capital structure, and CEO compensation. His findings have been published in leading journals including the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.