New Rector at Umeå School of Business and Economics
NEWS
Lars Hassel, Professor of Accounting, has been named as Rector (Dean) at Umeå School of Business and Economics at Umeå University. “We have finalised a very successful recruiting process," says Lena Gustafsson, Vice- Chancellor of Umeå University.
Lars Hassel is a Professor of Accounting at Åbo Akademi University in Finland, but is also a familiar face at Umeå University. Since 1998, he has been affiliated with the Umeå School of Business and Economics, where he currently holds a position as Adjunct Professor.
"Lars Hassel has solid research credentials, a well-documented commitment to undergraduate education and is also familiar with our operations," says Lena Gustafsson. "His experience and contact network will be very important for Umeå University and I look forward to following his work towards the development of the School of Business and Economics."
Lars Hassel, born in 1950 in Karleby, Finland, earned a Ph.D. 20 years ago at Åbo Akademi University. Today, he focuses his research on sustainable investments and businesses. He is the programme director for Sustainable Investments at the Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (MISTRA), which has received SEK 100 million in funding support. The results from the studies are of great interest for entrepreneurs, politicians and researchers. In 2008, the programme was awarded the Globe Award for Best Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
There are several significant appointments in Lars Hassel’s curriculum vitae. He is a member of the Auditing Academy in Sweden and UN PRI Academic Network steering committee, one of the most important voluntary global academic initiatives to increase awareness of sustainable and responsible investment in the financial markets. He also holds a wide international network of contacts and his previously been a guest professor in Malaysia, France, Russia and New Zealand.
Educational issues are also important to Lars Hassel. As recently as last year, he published the first Swedish textbook titled ”Hållbar utveckling: från risk till värde” (English: Sustainable development: from risk to value) that takes a broad view of how financial markets can drive a sustainable economy.
When Lars Hassel begins his new position on 1 August 2012, he will be the dean (rector) of a relatively new organisation. On 1 January 2012, the three department of economics, business and statistics were merged together in the new business school. Umeå School of Business currently has just over 170 employees and more than 2000students from around the world.
