Research stay of Jan Krupski at Jacksonville State University

With his outstanding research paper "Isolating Momentum Crashes"(publ. in Journal of Empirical Finance, 2022) he achieved to qualify for a presentation at the annual conference of the Southern Finance Association (SFA) in 2021. In addition to professionally interesting presentations, the conference itself was a highlight, taking place at the South Seas Island Resort on Capitva Island (Florida).

After a successful presentation, Jan was able to focus on his second goal: Networking! In the process, he met Amy Simon from Jacksonville State University (JSU). He took this opportunity to inquire about the possibility of visiting JSU for some time as a visiting researcher.  His PhD supervisor in Germany, Prof. Dr. Maik Dierkes, was also enthusiastic about this idea and made the research stay abroad possible with moral support and budget. He also provided the necessary flexibility for Jan to perform his teaching duties online during his stay. Jan found further support from the Graduate Academy of LUH, the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Economics and the Hannover Center of Finance.

At JSU, the professor of finance there, Dr. Ronnie Clayton, and the dean, Dr. Brent Cunningham, were impressed with the scholarly output of our researcher and invited him to deepen his research at Jacksonville State University for the fall 2022 semester.

Jan reports about an unforgettable time:

"The small town of Jacksonville with its approximately 14,000 inhabitants allowed me to get to know the "American way of life" as well as the hospitality of the southern states in an authentic way. In Amy Simon, I had a helpful and endearing contact person at JSU, who made great efforts to address my concerns from the very beginning, opened doors for me, and also became a good friend.

I felt very comfortable there. Thanks to the good support of the 'International House', I was able to quickly establish contacts, also with other incoming students. Overall, I was not only able to further my intercultural and language skills, but also to make decisive progress on my dissertation.

As a typical American university, JSU naturally also maintains an American football team. As a fan of the sport, I attended every home game. I was also thrilled by the 'Marching Southeners', an award-winning marching band that is nationally known in the United States.

What impressed me very much was the omnipresent identification with the university. Almost every student was dressed in university shirts and the football stadium was regularly very well attended. Jacksonville residents, as well as students, showed a strong connection to their university!"

During his stay, Jan was also active in sports himself: He regularly went running, swimming and cycling, e.g. to the nearby foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. The latter in particular always caused surprised faces in the land of big cars.

To conclude his time in the U.S., Jan was privileged to attend two more professional conferences: the Financial Management Association (FMA) annual meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, and another SFA meeting on Key West, Florida, where he represented JSU as part of the university team.

Because of the successful stay, Dr. Clayton and Dr. Cunningham would have liked to keep Jan on site as an assistant professor.
Even though Jan declined this offer, he reports an unforgettable time that will shape his life forever.