Dr. Elias J. Semaan is the Gaglioti professor of Finance at the College of Business.  He joined JMU in 2006 after earning his Ph.D. from George Washington University in 2005.   He has served as faculty advisor to MIF since 2007.

Dr. Semaan's area of expertise is in risk management, investments, and regulatory impacts on financial markets.  He has received the esteemed Dr. Otto C. Brenner Memorial Award for teaching excellence multiple times as well as the Provost's Distinguished Teacher Award, The Hull Award for Excellence and the Best Graduate Professor Award among others.