Kathy Dewenter wins 2016 PACCAR Award for Excellence in Teaching
Kathryn Dewenter
, an associate professor of finance at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, has won the 2016 PACCAR Award for Excellence in Teaching.
The school’s highest teaching honor was established in 1998 by PACCAR Inc, the Fortune 200 global technology company based in Bellevue, Washington. The PACCAR Award’s annual recipient is selected by a panel of Foster MBA students.
Dewenter is the Joshua Green Family Endowed Professor and one of the strongest forces for global business education at Foster. She served as faculty director of the Global Business Center from 2000-2006, and continues to teach courses in international finance and international strategy which have become indispensable to the well-rounded Foster MBA.
“Kathy does an amazing job facilitating discussion during class, and preparing us to think and analyze so we are successful in our careers,” wrote one MBA student in nominating Dewenter. “I do not know a single person who doesn’t think she is an amazing professor.”
Commitment to learning
Dewenter earned a BA in economics and Asian studies from Tufts University, from which she graduated summa cum laude. After working two years for Chemical Bank in New York and Asia, she earned an MBA in international business and an MA in international policy studies from Stanford.
And after a three-year stint consulting with McKinsey & Company in New York, Dewenter completed a PhD in international economics at the University of Chicago. For her work there, she was named finalist for the Academy of International Business R.N. Farmer Dissertation Award.
Dewenter joined the Foster faculty in 1992. From there she embarked upon a productive research career, examining the areas of banking regulation, foreign currency exposure, stock market competition, and sovereign wealth funds and privatization.
She also has made an enormous impact in the classroom, where she is known to be demanding but extremely caring. And she’s ever capable of helping students navigate the often unfamiliar territories of the global economy.
“Kathy not only pushed our class to think clearly, concisely, and wisely, but also helped me personally during my job search,” offered another MBA student. “Her commitment to our learning is inspiring.”
“She challenged us and kept us interested every single day of class,” wrote another. “Couldn’t ask for anything more.”
Pinnacle achievement
In addition to the PACCAR Award, Dewenter previously has won the Undergraduate Professor of the Year for Finance and Business Economics (2008), the Andrew V. Smith Faculty Development Award (2006), and the William A. & Helen I. Fowler Endowment for Special Achievement/Recognition Award (2002). She was a Neal and Jan Dempsey Fellow (2001-02, 2002-03) and taught at the Young President’s Organization Summer University (2002). She participated in the European Union Visitor’s Program (1996).
But the PACCAR Award is perhaps her landmark achievement.
“I am overwhelmed with the honor and frankly very touched by the effort of my students to nominate and secure this award for me,” Dewenter says. “I take teaching very seriously, and am truly gratified by the recognition of my efforts.”
PACCAR and its founding Pigott family are longtime supporters of the Foster School. In addition to the PACCAR Award and three endowed faculty positions, support from the Pigott family and company was instrumental in building PACCAR Hall, the Foster School’s 135,000-square-foot classroom facility that was completed in 2010.
Previous PACCAR Award Winners
Karma Hadjimichalakis (1998)
Stephan Sefcik (1999)
Elizabeth Stearns (2000)
Jennifer Koski (2001)
Ali Tarhouni (2002)
Robert Higgins (2003)
Jane Kennedy (2004)
Daniel Turner (2005)
Mark Forehand (2006)
Mark Hillier (2007)
Jennifer Koski (2008)
Shailendra Pratap Jain (2009)
Thomas Gilbert (2010)
Lance Young (2011)
Erich Studer-Ellis (2012)
Mark Hillier (2013)
Frank Hodge (2014)
Jennifer Koski (2015)
