DANI LIMOS
Staff Writer
It’s Monday at 8 a.m., and the financial management class sits in the CCB watching a magnified presentation on private loans. All seems normal— another lecture, another chapter, another painfully early Monday— except one thing: there is Mission Impossible-esque music booming out the speakers.
Dr. Vassilis Polimenis is not your typical professor. While going over would-be-boring material like private loans and their interest rates, Professor Polimenis plays exciting action music to accompany the lecture. It’s quirky, humorous, and definitely appreciated by the students.
It doesn’t stop there. Professor Polimenis is from Greece. In addition to creative teaching methods, this unique finance professor brings passion and zeal to the classroom in a clear Greek accent.
“He’s really energetic to keep up the enthusiasm in class,” said JD Schleppenbach, a student in Polimenis’ financial management class. “He’ll play music with lectures so they’re not boring.”
But Dr. Polimenis is more than enthusiasm. He has had the education and experience to back it all up.
Born in Greece, Polimenis received his first degree from the University of Patras in computer science. He came overseas, knowing the United States offered the strongest graduate business education, and received finance degrees from the University of California Berkeley and the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
On having professors of international background, Dr. Dean Baim, one of Dr. Polimenis’ colleagues in the Business division, said, “The business division has prided itself on having quality people with diverse backgrounds. We have faculty from many international origins. I think that this is a great benefit for business division students to have experiences from such a diverse group.”
Dr. Polimenis has already found himself pulling from his Greek roots. While it has been a challenge teaching in a different educational system and culture, he has drawn from Greece’s emphasis on analytical thinking, a major plus when dealing in finance.
When it comes to professional experience, past employers include Delloitte & Touche and Merrill Lynch in Athens. He previously taught finance at the MBA program of the Anderson School of Management with the University of California Riverside.
“The important thing to remember is that these faculty are first and foremost quality scholars and teachers,” Baim explained. “That was why they were hired. Their ethnic background is a bonus.”
Dr. Polimenis makes this quite clear. Before all other aspects in his career, the students come first.
“Teaching is more than a job,” said Dr. Polimenis. “When you see the impact on someone’s career or life, then you know it’s worth it.”
Even at home, Dr. Polimenis is always thinking of his students. His wife, Eva Polimenis-Panagiotidi said, “I have seen how hard he tries to help his students, how worried he is with their progress, and how persistent he is in his efforts to find new ways to improve their progress.”
Applying finance and seeing it in everyday life is what Dr. Polimenis strives to achieve. “From the very first day, I target the class so everything has applicability. There is no dry theory. I want them to have that ‘Ah ha!’ moment every day where they can use it in their lives.”
Kalynn Karnicky, one of Dr. Polimenis’ students, already finds the course helpful. “Polimenis focuses only on things that are important in real life and for the tests. He does not include a lot of fluff but gets down to business which is refreshing compared to some classes.”
So why finance? Such an enthusiastic and outgoing personality doesn’t seem to go hand in hand with dry bank statements, percentage rates and taxes.
“I see the best of two worlds,” Dr. Polimenis explained. “There’s the business side that’s very real. You literally see finance every day on your computer screen. And then there are the numbers which, for me, have always been a natural fit. Finance combines the analytical elements with reality.”
So what does a finance professor do for fun? For Dr. Polimenis, his hobby is nothing short of adventurous.
He flies planes, and has been doing so for four years.
“Since I was a small kid, I’ve been very excited about aviation,” he explained. “It was always a dream of mine. It’s challenging and it takes time.”
He takes off out of Van Nuys in a single-engine plane and cruises above Southern California.
“Some of my best moments are up there,” Dr. Polimenis reflected. “You feel so close to nature.”
When asked if he could picture his finance professor piloting a plane, student Schleppenbach laughed and replied, “With his personality, I feel like he’d try to do flips and barrel rolls.”
While mid-air tricks may not be on his immediate agenda, the next big adventure has already begun: Dr. Polimenis and his wife welcomed their first child, George, into the world on Saturday, Oct. 20.
“Parenting will be my next big challenge,” Polimenis gushed with a smile.
The enthusiasm won’t be stopping any time soon.
12-06-2007