Brian Porter focuses on analytic, financial aspects of management and has a particular interest in the emergence of new companies and IPOs.

He teaches courses in financial management, personal investment and accounting, as well as first-year seminars. He has a special interest in the integration of faith and ethics in business and in business education. His writing focuses on financial planning and management, retirement planning and pedagogy.

Dr. Porter worked for a range of Michigan businesses for more than a decade before entering the field of higher education. He was an accountant for Buick Motor Division and for Ernst & Whinney (now folded into the accounting firm Ernst & Young), and served as assistant controller of Kelsey-Hayes Corporation (a Detroit-area manufacturer of auto parts) and as controller of a newspaper chain in Flint. He then taught for five years at Calvin College before joining the Hope College faculty in 1999.

Areas of Expertise

• Accounting
• Finance
• Behavioral finance
• Personal finance and investing

Education

• Ph.D., business, Indiana University, 1994
• MBA, University of Michigan, 1990
• B.A., Alma College, 1984

Professional Certifications

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 1986
• Certified Management Accountant (CMA) since 1989

Selected Honors

• Sharon G. Johnson Award honoring scholarship and publications, Christian Business Faculty Association, 2008
• Best in Track Award – Personal Financial Planning, Academy of Finance, 2008

Selected Publications

• “WalletHub’s Best Credit Cards for Students with No Credit,” wallethub.com, 2018
• “Mergers and Micah: What Christians Should Make of AT&T–Time Warner,” thinkchristian.reframemedia.com, 2016
• “Stock Simulation and Mutual Funds: A Pedagogical Tool for Faith Based Investing and Interfaith Understanding,” Christian Higher Education, 2013
• “The Shift from Defined Benefit to Defined Contribution Retirement Plans: What are the Consequences?” Journal of the Academy of Finance, 2007
• “Dollar-Cost Averaging Withdrawals: A Simulation Comparison of Interval Length and Timing,” Journal of the Academy of Finance, 2006

View all of Dr. Porter’s publications on his CV.

Selected Presentations

• “Spending Retirement Savings: An Examination of Research and Strategies,” Midwest Business Administration Association (MBAA) conference, 2018
• “Online Stock Market Simulations: Teaching the Efficient Market Hypothesis and Other Concepts to Students,” MBAA conference, 2017
• “Teaching Behavioral Finance: Participatory Demonstrations With Students,” MBAA conference, 2016
• “Intersecting Faith and Business: Is Health Care an Individual’s Right, Entitlement, Privilege, or Something Else?” Christian Business Faculty Association conference, 2014
• “Teaching Ethical and Faith Based Investing: A Comparison of Investing Criteria and Mutual Funds,” Academy of Finance, 2013

Outside the College

Dr. Porter and his wife Dr. Brigitte Hamon-Porter (who teaches French at Hope College) have two college-age sons. They enjoy traveling and recently visited the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Costa Rica. Dr. Porter serves on the school board of Black River School in Holland.