La Salle University Professor of Finance, Elizabeth Cooper, Ph.D., always puts her students’ education first, no matter if her classroom is in Founders’ Hall or the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia.
Between earning her graduate degrees and joining the La Salle faculty, Cooper worked as a Supervisory Financial Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, travelling to big banks across the country with a focus on retail risk, things like credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans.
Elizabeth Cooper, Ph.D., a professor of finance in the La Salle University School of Business, has a student-centered approach to teaching, no matter what type of classroom she’s in.
Cooper was first drawn to the world of finance as an undergraduate student at Villanova University. The quantitative classes where she could analyze numbers and patterns resonated with her.
“Finance stood out because it connected that analytical work to real-world cases and stories,” she said.
Cooper stuck with finance throughout her undergraduate degree, earning a bachelor’s in the subject from Villanova. She then went on to earn her master’s and doctorate degrees in finance from Drexel University.
In 2008, after being told about La Salle’s School of Business by one of her former professors, Cooper applied and joined the finance department as an assistant professor.
“I really loved the campus right off the bat – a little oasis in the city,” Cooper said of her first visit to 20th and Olney. “The people here are really what got me though. I felt comfortable right away with the finance faculty and the entire School of Business. I could sense that this was a great place for students to learn and live, and I wanted to be part of it.”
La Salle’s focus on its students is the thing that initially made Cooper want to teach, so being in an environment where that’s the norm is one of the best parts about being a member of faculty, she said. She also enjoys working with colleagues who challenge and inspire her daily.
She’s carried that student-centered approach into her own classroom and hopes she gives her students not only a technical education, but also the ethics, confidence, and perspective that they need to make responsible financial decisions wherever they end up after graduation.
“Teaching finance gives me the opportunity to shape how students think about risk, decisions, and the world around them,” she said. “My favorite part is helping them develop a way of thinking—analytical, curious, and grounded in data—that they can hopefully carry into any career.”
Between earning her graduate degrees and joining the La Salle faculty, Cooper worked as a Supervisory Financial Analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, travelling to big banks across the country with a focus on retail risk, things like credit cards, mortgages, and auto loans.
A few years ago, Cooper also received her Accredited Financial Counselor (AFC) designation. As a financial counselor, she works to emphasize personal finance education, particularly for moderate- to low-income people and families.
With Cooper’s newest designation, as well as her professional and academic background, she wanted to find a new way to make an impact. When she learned of a need for instructors to teach women at the Federal Detention Center in Philadelphia who were preparing for re-entry, she was immediately interested.
“I felt that my background as a professor, combined with my experience in financial literacy, positioned me well to contribute in a meaningful way,” she said. And she was correct. “I have since taught one cohort of women and will begin my second class this spring.”
Similar to La Salle, Cooper found herself in a classroom full of individuals who wanted to learn.
“The students in my class are highly engaged and genuinely eager to learn,” she said. “Although I was initially intimidated by the idea of entering the prison environment, that feeling quickly faded once I got to the classroom and met the women.”
Cooper crafts lessons that will help her students make responsible decisions around their finances, the same way she does at La Salle. With her cohorts at the Detention Center, she focuses on financial literacy issues often faced by older adults, including savings, investments, and keeping money safe from things like financial exploitation and identity theft.
While her teaching methods and priorities are the same at both places, the technology is not. Cooper has had to adjust her usual style to comply with technology restrictions at the detention center—she can’t take a phone or wear a watch into the classroom—doing things like using “old-school transparencies” instead of a PowerPoint.
Despite this challenge, Cooper values the opportunity to teach the women, and learns from this group of students herself.
“The experience has been deeply rewarding. I’ve learned a lot by listening to their questions, stories, and perspectives on topics I know well,” she said. “Their viewpoints often challenge my own assumptions.”
Cooper’s passions extend beyond the classroom. When she’s not in Founders’ Hall, Cooper might be found running on the track at McCarthy Stadium. She’s part of the Faculty Running Club, a small but important group to her.
“It is a fun way to get to know other faculty members from across campus in a different environment and context,” she said.
-Naomi Thomas
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