SunTrust Names Professorship in Finance

April 23,  2004 (Atlanta) - SunTrust Bank has become the first corporation to name a professorship in the finance department of the Robinson College of Business with the creation of the SunTrust Professorship in Capital Markets. The professorship will attract and retain a scholar of world class ability and recognition, and will support outstanding doctoral student research assistants. The announcement of the professorship was made at a ceremony attended by Carl V. Patton, president of Georgia State University; Sidney E. Harris, dean of the Robinson College of Business; Phil Humann, chairman, president and CEO of SunTrust; and other officials from Georgia State University, Robinson College and SunTrust. SunTrust is committing an unprecedented 3:1 match for their alumni/employee contributions. At the ceremony, Dean Harris said that "We view this gathering as a strong vote of confidence in what we do…We hope to replicate this initiative in other large companies in Atlanta. With SunTrust's support, this professorship can become the most distinguished in the College and help the College achieve the recognition it so richly deserves." The Dean also noted that the SunTrust Professorship will further strengthen Robinson's Finance Department which is already on CFO.com's list of the nation's 10 most intriguing programs in the nation. Following his remarks, the Dean introduced the keynote speaker, Phil Niehaus, managing director, credit derivatives in the Financial Risk Management Group at SunTrust. ___________________________________ The J. Mack Robinson College of Business is one of the world's best business schools. The College's Flex (part-time) MBA program has been listed in the top ten by U.S. News for the past eight years and its undergraduate business program is ranked among the top 40 in the nation (top 25 among public universities). The College's Executive MBA program is listed on The Financial Times list of the world's top ranked offerings and BusinessWeek magazine ranks it 24th in the world. Georgia State University's Robinson College of Business has an enrollment for more than 8000 students and is located in downtown Atlanta.