About
Chris Brune, Ph.D., CFP® is an associate professor of finance in the Hickingbotham School of Business, where
he also serves as chair of the Department of Accounting and Finance.
Originally from North Little Rock, Ark., Brune is a Ouachita alumnus and the first
to ever graduate from the school with a major in finance. He also holds an MBA and
Ph.D. from the University of Arkansas.
Before returning to Ouachita, Brune worked for ten years in the financial services
industry, where he served as a financial advisor and later provided oversight for
all financial planning and fee-based account functions for a regional bank group.
On occasion, he still provides financial planning services to friends and co-workers.
Fun Facts
What do you like most about your field?
Finance is incredibly dynamic. There is always more to learn, always room to grow.
That means you’re constantly challenged, and that’s a good thing. Also, because so
many people struggle with their finances, there’s a real opportunity to help others
in a significant way.
Why did you enter the teaching profession?
It was not something that I planned to do. I went back to school with the expectation
of starting a business and possibly teaching later in life. But I ultimately felt
God leading back me to Ouachita instead, and I’m thankful He did! If I’m going to
teach, I don’t know of a place that I’d rather be, and that’s because of our students.
What is a favorite moment of working with students at Ouachita?
I enjoy teaching and advising, but it’s the times outside of class that are particularly
meaningful. Bible studies, student meetings, business plan competitions, intramural
games – those are the memories that stand out the most.
Areas of Expertise
Courses taught:
- Advanced Financial Planning
- Corporate Financial Management
- Principles of Insurance
- Investments
- Personal Finance
- Introduction to Portfolio Management
- Small Business
Recent publications:
- "Bank Risk and Charter Value: The Role of Opacity" (with Kevin Lee and Scott Miller),
International Journal of Banking, Accounting, and Finance, 2020
- "Teaching Business Statistics: Some Useful Relationships" (with Phil Rice), International Journal of Business and Management, 2020
- "Using Biblical Screens in the Stock Selection Process: Applications for a Student
Managed Fund" (with Jim Files), Christian Business Academy Review, 2019
- "A Classroom Game for Teaching Asset Allocation," Advances in Financial Education, 2019
- "Teaching the Concept of Personal Risk Tolerance" (with Scott Miller), Journal of Economics and Finance Education, 2019
- "The Effects of Bank Capital Constraints on Post-Acquisition Performance" (with Kevin
Lee and Scott Miller), Journal of Economics and Finance, 2015
- "Where Teaching Statistics Reaches Overdrive: A Directed Iterative Process Constructed
to Optimize Human Capital for the Workplace" (with Marshall Horton and Phil Rice),
Business Education Innovation Journal, 2014
- "The Contagion Effect of Default Risk Insurer Downgrades: The Impact on Insured Municipal
Bonds" (with Pu Liu), Journal of Economics and Business, 2011
- "The Effects of Insurer Distress on Insured Municipal Bonds" (with Pu Liu), Municipal Finance Journal, 2011
- "A Comparison of Student Learning Outcomes in Traditional and Online Personal Finance
Courses" (with Eddie Ary), Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 2011
Other
Brune is the faculty advisor for the Eddie and Phyllis Ary Student Investment Fund,
a stock portfolio of approximately $1.4 million of university endowment funds managed
by senior finance students. In 2019, the Ary Fund won a national award for best risk-adjusted
return, undergraduate value category, at the Global Asset Management Forum in New
York.
He also has advised multiple award-winning business plan teams at the local and state
levels.
In 2018, Brune was awarded the C. Sam Walls Entrepreneur Educator Award by the Arkansas
Capital Corporation, and in 2019, he was voted Most Inspirational Professor by the
Ouachita student body.
