Michael Stegemoller, Ph.D., Appointed Associate Dean for Faculty in the Honors College

Baylor University’s Honors College is pleased to announce the appointment of Michael Stegemoller, Ph.D., as Associate Dean for Faculty, effective June 1. Dr. Stegemoller currently serves as the Harriette L. and Walter G. Lacy, Jr., Chair of Banking and Finance in the Hankamer School of Business, where he has taught since 2010, including a six-year stint as department chair.

“Over the last fifteen years, Mike Stegemoller has united academic distinction and Christian conviction in his work at Baylor,” Honors College Dean Douglas Henry, Ph.D., said. “From his teaching and research to his leadership as a department chair and considerable service, Mike has exemplified qualities for which we look in our faculty: affability, curiosity, faithfulness, humility, magnanimity, intelligence, and wisdom.” 

Dr. Stegemoller’s academic path reflects a blend of disciplines and experiences. He earned two degrees in agriculture from Abilene Christian University, an M.B.A. from Baylor, and a Ph.D. in finance from the University of Georgia. Before coming to Baylor, he taught at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University, and Texas Tech University. His research focuses on mergers and acquisitions and the interactions between investment banks and firms.

“I was drawn to the Honors College because their mission to love truth, kindle faith, and cultivate virtue in friendship, study, and service to Christ and neighbor is incredibly compelling to me,” Stegemoller said. “I desire to learn what the faculty are working on and do my very best to encourage and aid them in their work. I believe that the Honors College has hired the best and brightest; I hope to be a help to them along their way.”

Dr. Stegemoller’s connection to the Honors College has grown over time through his experience teaching in the Great Texts department.

“One of the single most encouraging aspects of my time at Baylor has been the joy of teaching the Great Texts in Business class,” Stegemoller said. “It’s shown me how a liberal arts education offers a rich language for wrestling with the deeper questions. Every person engaged in business will, at some point, confront the reality that ‘by doing the acts that we do in our transactions with other men we become just or unjust.’ A liberal arts education not only dignifies the transaction itself but also points beyond it, offering a virtuous aim. At Baylor, that aim is always in service to Christ and neighbor.”

In this role, Dr. Stegemoller will join Erika Abel, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Undergraduate Studies, and Scott Moore, Ph.D., Associate Dean for Strategic Initiatives, in advancing the work of the Honors College.

“Mike is already known within the Honors College through his teaching in our curriculum, direction of honors theses, and support of major student recruitment programs,” Dean Henry noted. “Alongside Associate Deans Abel and Moore, he’ll now be a splendid advocate and source of good counsel for our interdisciplinary faculty. We’re excited at the ways Mike’s leadership will strengthen undergraduate excellence across the university, including longstanding collaboration with Hankamer School of Business, in which many honors students pursue degrees.”

Dean Henry gratefully acknowledges the support of Provost Nancy Brickhouse and the generosity of Hankamer School of Business leaders in consenting to Dr. Stegemoller's appointment. He would also like to thank the search committee for their valuable time and service: Drs. Kristen Drahos, Alan Jacobs, Scott Moore, and Colleen Zori.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Stegemoller and welcoming him into this new leadership position.