The Department of Economics is pleased to welcome Dr. Lawrence Kreicher as the Gosnell Visiting Professor of Economics for the Duke Financial Economics Center (DFE). Kreicher comes to Duke from Dartmouth College, where he spent the last eight years teaching financial theory, financial institutions and markets, international finance and global macroeconomics. Similarly, Kreicher will be teaching ECON514 (Fixed Income Markets and Quantitative Methods) in the fall, and in the spring will be teaching a financial markets and institutions course.
Kreicher is well-suited to teach these courses, especially with the vast amount of practical experience he’s had in the finance world. After completing his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard, Kreicher entered the world of academia for four years, teaching at the University of Florida. “I came out of graduate school wanting to do work in international finance, and I really wasn't able to do that at my first academic posting,” said Kreicher. “I jumped to the Federal Reserve Bank in NYC, and that really set me up to to develop an interest in the policy of international finance.” Focusing on applied financial research and bond strategy, Kreicher spent over twenty years working on Wall Street.
Everything came full circle after Kreicher decided it was time to retire from Wall Street. “After a couple of years of thinking about what I should do with myself, I decided to return to academics, where I started many years earlier,” Kreicher said. He took a position at Pace University in New York City and then made his way to the Stern School at New York University. Kreicher was glad to share his extensive experience with his students. “There was and continues to be a need in academia for people who can bring a clinical background and experience in financial markets to the classroom,” Kreicher said. He then left NYU for Dartmouth, and after eight years there, took the position at Duke.
But Kreicher hasn’t given up his interest in international finance all together. Kreicher still does work for the Bank of International Settlements in Switzerland. “There's a real need to coordinate policies because the lack thereof can have unintended consequences. The Bank for International Settlements is the ideal place for someone who is interested in these kind of issues.” Kreicher works in Switzerland a couple of times a year and enjoys the chance to “play with the big boys” of international finance.
With classes starting this week, Kreicher is excited to bring his experience to his students. Having worked in commercial banks, investment banks, and asset management, he has a lot to bring to the table. He’s also looking forward to working with students one-on-one and advising them on their options for the future, as well as participating in the student events DFE facilitates. “I'm looking forward to a nice run here at Duke,” Kreicher said.
Economics Department