Faculty: Dr. Oneil Harris

Dr. Oneil Harris, associate professor in the Department of Finance at East Carolina University, had one word to describe his youth growing up in Kingston, Jamaica — “interesting.”

However, that “interesting” life that included growing up in a single-parent household after his father left when Harris was 4 years old shaped the man and professor he is today.

“Growing up without a dad, I wasn’t really into sports. I was more of a troublemaker as a child,” Harris said. “At age 17, I got my first child, and at age 19, I had my second and I had to really sit down and think about what I wanted to do with my life, and so I decided at that point to become an academic and go to college.”

Harris left Jamaica for Florida Atlantic University and knew exactly what he wanted to study.

“My interest in economics started in high school in Jamaica,” he said. “Where I grew up in Jamaica was kind of rough, so I always wanted to understand how the economy worked. To make my life better for me and my kids, I had to understand money.”

He obtained his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics and then went to get his doctoral degree.

“I had hoped to do my Ph.D. in economics, but I met a finance professor who encouraged me to study finance instead,” Harris said. “I was a little bit hesitant because I had never taken a finance course, but once I started the program I realized that finance is applied economics, and so it was something that naturally spoke to me.”

Harris has been teaching at ECU for 11 years.

“I’m known in the finance department to be one of the toughest professors. That speaks to me. It’s appealing to me,” he said. “My students know that I have a vested interest in their success.”

That interest is displayed in an annual trip the students take to the New York Stock Exchange.

“That’s something I look forward to every year,” Harris said. “It’s a way for them to get a real-world sense of what we talk about in class every day and see it applied.”

Harris said the world of business and finance changes often, generating questions from his students.

“I’m constantly reading,” he said. “I try to stay relevant with the news, partly because of my financial markets class and partly because my students tend to be up with the news. They always ask questions, so by definition I’m forced to keep up.”

He said those changes can often create research ideas as well, such as examining the effect proposed and implemented tariffs had on U.S. and global stocks.

“I wouldn’t say that I have a particular area for research,” he said. “It’s just whatever I find interesting.”

He’s looked at everything from corporate social responsibility to CEO compensation. One research project he was involved in focused on the differences between male and female managers.

“For that paper, we basically showed that at some point, gender doesn’t matter,” Harris said. “In gender-related research, they seemed to argue that female managers think differently than their male counterparts, that they are more risk averse. Our study shows that once you throw money in the mix, that difference goes away.”

As a professor in finance, Harris said some people approach him with questions about specific stocks.

“I get asked, but I don’t offer advice,” he said. “That’s because to me, money matters are personal. Everyone needs to be involved in their own money management.”

He said those who save their money have time on their side, as that money will compound to produce more — which isn’t exactly a bad thing in what he called the unpredictable world of business, economics and finance.

“In the profession, they always have a caveat statement that everything is subject to risk, so for me it’s best not to give advice,” he said, adding with a smile, “I tend to keep friends that way.”

PIRATE PRIDE

Years at ECU: 11 years

What I love about ECU: “As it relates to College of Business, I enjoy my colleagues. We have a culture here that is open and encourages us to try new things, so the people that I work with would be No. 1 on the top of my list.”

Research interests: “My research interests are varied because of my background. Starting in economics, I have ideas in economics I like to pursue, but marrying that with finance, I tend to do research on the overall economy or research on firms. I’m known around here for doing research. Other faculty approach me with ideas, and if we can formulate something from it then that’s a research project I’m working on.”

Favorite class to teach: “I wouldn’t say I have a favorite class to teach. I’m probably better known among my students at the undergraduate level for teaching financial analysis and planning, Finance 3824. It’s always ranked as the hardest class, so I’m famous among students for that.”

FAST FACTS

Name: Oneil Harris

Title: Associate Professor, Department of Finance, College of Business

Hometown: Kingston, Jamaica

Colleges attended and degrees: bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics, doctorate in finance, all from Florida Atlantic University

QUICK QUIZ

Last thing I watched on TV: “I don’t watch a lot of TV other than the news, so the last thing I watched on TV was the news. I tend to watch CNBC a lot and MSNBC to some extent, but for personal consumption, I don’t really watch a lot of TV. I’m more an audio type of person, so what I listened to last was an audio book ‘Lead the Field’ by Earl Nightingale. When I’m at work, my screens are always on, so when I’m home, they’re off.”

First job: “My first job when I came to the U.S., I was a lot attendant at Home Depot. Basically, I helped people load their vehicles. What I liked about that job was that it was hard work, so it taught me fairly early at 19 why I should stay in school. I was lifting bricks, bags of cement and stuff like that. I tell my son all the time that this is why I figured out I had to stay in school.”

Guilty pleasure: “I don’t really have one, but it would be music if anything. I like walking and running, so I always have my headset on. When I do that, it gives me the opportunity to unwind and to step away from research, teaching and thinking about the economy and just consume something.”

Favorite meal: “I’m largely vegetarian, so I consume a plant-based diet. If I had to choose these days, I would say a good salad. If I go back in time to my Jamaican upbringing, I would probably say a good steamed fish.”

One thing most people don’t know about me: “I’m a good cook. Growing up the way I did, we had to cook things based on whatever we had. I still cook the same way. I’m the type of person who will go home, open the fridge, pull out whatever is in there and make something tasty. When we have family get-togethers, I’m the one who has to do most of the cooking.”

What’s your advice to students? “It depends, but most of the time they want career advice, so I just tell them to be lifelong learners. That way they can always adapt to new ways of doing things. I tell them to study and do well in class first. Then, once they leave school and enter the real world, I tell them to continue to learn, grow and develop into the person you hope to be. Most people once they graduate think that is it and they stop learning. They don’t realize that’s when most of the learning begins. We call it commencement because it’s the beginning of something new.”