John Gonas

Biography

Dr. John Gonas is a Professor of Finance in the Undergraduate and Jack C. Massey School of Business. Gonas teaches Corporate Finance, Investment Portfolio Management, and Applications in Equity Valuation and Management. He has also taught two years of a Project and Planning Seminar for the Belmont Honors College. His teaching philosophy is heavily influenced by applying financial theory to empirical applications and revolves around real life application of a subject matter.

Prior to joining Belmont's faculty in 1998, Gonas worked in the financial planning industry for eight years (most recently with J.C. Bradford, Inc. in Nashville) primarily in high net worth and institutional asset management. During the 2000-2002 academic years, he went on leave from Belmont to pursue a doctorate in Finance at the University of Kentucky, a degree he received in the spring of 2005. In 2007 he received the Presidential Faculty Achievement Award by Belmont University, and in 2008 was honored by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching as the Tennessee Professor of the Year.

For more than 20 years Gonas has served as the faculty advisor for Belmont's Enactus Team. Enactus is an international, non-profit organization active on over 1,500 college and university campuses in 37 countries. Under Gonas' leadership, Belmont's Enactus conceived, developed, and implemented numerous social enterprises and has been recognized at a regional, national, and international level for its part in building sustainable business models. The Belmont team was named the 2010 USA National Champion and third place in the world; thereafter, the 2012 USA National Champion and first place in the world.