Skip to content

Teaching

Professor Joshua White is an award winning teacher of Managerial Finance and Corporate Financial Policy in Vanderbilt University’s Master of Science in Finance (MSF), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Executive MBA, and Master of Management in Health Care (MMHC) programs at the Owen Graduate School of Management. Professor White was awarded Vanderbilt University’s James A. Webb Award for Teaching Excellence in 2023. During his doctoral studies, Josh White won the Allen H. Keally Graduate Teaching Award from the Haslam College of Business.

Professor White at Vanderbilt University

Corporate Financial Policy (MGT 6432)

Professor White teaches corporate financial policy to MBA and MSF students at the Owen Graduate School of Management.

This course emphasizes a company’s crucial financial choices and strategies, encompassing topics such as corporate governance, executive remuneration, capital structure, debt and equity issuance, and payout policies including dividends and share repurchases. It consists of an approximately equal blend of lectures and case study analyses. The goal of this course is for students to learn how to make value-creating financial decisions. Professor White demonstrates how how to use analytical methods to improve students’ understanding, confidence, skill, and ability to apply these tools to corporate finance. The course is grounded in finance theory and current empirical evidence, with a focus on contemporaneous issues. Corporate Valuation (MGT 6431 is a pre-requisite). Syllabus.

Corporate Financial Policy (EMGT 7731)

Joshua T. White also teaches corporate financial policy to Executive MBA students in Mod 1. This class examines major policies and financial decisions of a corporation. The topics covered are corporate governance, executive compensation, capital structure, raising debt and equity capital, and payout policy. It is a mix of lectures and case studies. Professor White demonstrates how how to use analytical methods to improve Executive MBA students’ understanding, confidence, skill, and ability to apply these tools to corporate finance at their organization. The course is grounded in finance theory and current empirical evidence, with a focus on contemporaneous issues. Syllabus

Managerial Finance (EMGT 7731)

Josh White teaches managerial finance to MMHC students in Mod 4 at Vanderbilt University. This class provides the framework for analyzing the various components needed to value real assets, as well as an introduction to the valuation of financial assets. Topics include the time value of money, capital budgeting, measuring risk in financial markets, and market efficiency, among others. The primary objective of this course is to learn how to make value-creating investment and financing decisions. Professor White first teaches students that the value of an asset is a function of the level, timing, and riskiness of its expected cash flows. The course then focuses on the concepts, techniques, and practices needed to make value-maximizing decisions. Syllabus

In the past, Professor White has taught the following courses:

Owen Graduate School of Management, Vanderbilt University

  1. MGT 6432 – Corporate Financial Policy (MBA, MSF): 2018S, 2019S, 2020S, 2020F, 2021S, 2021F, 2022F, 2022S, 2023S
  2. EMGT 7731 – Managerial Finance (EMBA): 2018S, 2019S, 2020S
  3. EMGT 7733 – Corporate Financial Policy (EMBA):  2020F, 2021F
  4. EMGT 7831 – Managerial Finance (MMHC): 2018S, 2019S, 2020S, 2021S, 2022S
  5. Accelerator ® – Finance Bootcamp: 2018Su, 2019Su

Terry College of Business, University of Georgia

1. Finance 4210 – Applied Corporate Finance (Valuation): 2015S, 2017S

Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee

  1. Finance 301 – Financial Management: 2009F, 2010S
  2. Finance 300 – Fundamentals of Finance: 2011F, 2012S

Teaching Awards

  1. Vanderbilt University: James A. Webb Award for Teaching Excellence (2023)
  2. University of Tennessee: Allen H. Keally Graduate Teaching Award (2011)

Teaching Grants

Professor Josh White received a Course Improvement Grant from the Office of the Provost at Vanderbilt University in 2021. Using this grant, he embarked on a project aimed at creating a case study which investigates how value-creating financial decisions can be made to benefit stakeholders beyond just shareholders. This came after recognizing a shift in corporate purpose as defined by the Business Roundtable in 2019, where CEOs of America’s leading companies committed to operate for the benefit of all stakeholders. Joshua White asserts that existing case studies inadequately address this important shift in corporate responsibility, and hopes to provide future business leaders with the necessary tools to create long-term value for everyone. Joshua T. White plans to use this case study in the Corporate Financial Policy course. Professor White encourages faculty to continuously improve their teaching content to stay current with the changing world, a philosophy which aligns with his approach to teaching. For more information, see Josh’s interview with Vanderbilt University’s Center for Teaching (CFT) assistant director Julaine Fowlin here.