A Penn State alumnus and former Wall Street analyst has made a $3 million estate commitment to endow the Ken Kulju Professorship in Finance at the Smeal College of Business. The gift, combined with a $250,000 pledge for early activation, allowed the college to immediately appoint Associate Professor Mish Velikov, whose research sits at the intersection of finance and artificial intelligence.
Ken Kulju, a founding member of Smeal's Finance Advisory Board, said he views faculty support as a direct way to strengthen the research infrastructure and talent pipeline needed to elevate the department. "I'm continually impressed with the dedication and quality of Smeal's faculty," Kulju said. "Their research is needed to elevate Smeal's reputation and rankings among other business schools."
Funding research where finance meets AI
Kimberly Cornaggia, Louis R. and Virginia A. Benzak Professor of Finance and department chair, said Velikov's work represents the kind of research that distinguishes a leading business school. "The resources from the Kulju Professorship will allow Mish to acquire the latest models, computing resources, data and other tools needed for his work," Cornaggia said.
Velikov earned his doctorate in finance from the University of Rochester's Simon Business School in 2015 and joined the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond as an associate financial economist. He came to Smeal as an assistant professor in 2019 and was promoted to associate professor with tenure in 2025. Velikov called the appointment "a great honor" and said endowed gifts signal that alumni believe in the college's strategic direction.
Preparing students for a data-driven industry
John and Karen Arnold Dean Corey Phelps tied the professorship directly to Smeal's goal of becoming a top five public business school within five years. "Endowed faculty positions play a vital role in advancing academic excellence by enabling the holder to pursue research, engage in professional development and bring insights into the classroom," Phelps said.
Kulju, who retired as managing director at Livingston Securities in 2023, said the tools of the trade are changing and he views Velikov's research as essential for the next generation of finance professionals. "I consider his research to be truly innovative, and I feel honored to be associated with his work," Kulju said. Cornaggia added that bringing this knowledge into the classroom will "help prepare our students to lead in a world that is being rapidly reshaped by data, technology and AI."
Why this matters for finance professionals
Endowed professorships like this one create a direct pipeline between academic research and the skills finance professionals need. Velikov's work focuses on AI for Finance, a domain where computational models are reshaping asset pricing, risk management, and investment analysis. For CFOs and senior finance leaders adapting to these shifts, structured upskilling paths such as the AI Learning Path for CFOs translate academic advances into practical capability. The research funded by Kulju's gift will reach students who enter firms expecting to work with machine learning models and large-scale data - making hires from programs like Smeal's increasingly valuable to Wall Street and corporate finance teams.
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