Finance and Economics are both fields of study that require a great amount of analysis, attention to detail, and an overall understanding of the world around us. Dr. Rossen Trendafilov is someone who not only knows this but is someone who does an excellent job at instilling these qualities in all of his students.
“I try to establish a personal relationship with my students in order to better understand their current needs and their future goals. Further, I strive to help the students develop critical and independent thinking skills along with the ability to clearly express ideas.”
Growing up in Bulgaria, not many would guess that Rossen played guitar, was in a theatre group, and had long hair! However, something many people would guess is that Rossen has always had an interest in finance and economics.
After coming to the United States, and completing his Bachelor’s Degree at Mount Saint Vincent in Business Administration, Rossen knew he wanted to continue his studies. With this, he went on to get his MBA and PH.D. at Fordham University both with a concentration in Economics. Gaining this knowledge truly allowed Rossen to “Understand how the financial system works and how it can be improved and governed, all of which is key for economic prosperity.”
Rossen began his teaching career at Fordham University where he taught Economics and Statistics. He then went on to teach at Iona College and Truman College before coming to St. Thomas Aquinas College. Having taught at many large universities, Rossen truly finds value in STAC’s friendly, supportive, and family-like environment. “STAC’s smaller size really provides a unique and more personal learning experience. Professionally, I believe teaching smaller size classes is more effective, it allows me to focus more on the needs of individual students.”
Outside of teaching, Rossen’s primary areas of research are financial economics, behavioral finance, and development. More recently, along with Dr. Deidre Engels, Rossen has become one of the advisors for the STAC New Hope Movement. This is a cooperative, global, initiative to promote Fair Trade products produced by artisans across the world. The STAC New Hope Movement also aids in promoting these fair-trade principles at and within the college. In 2018, as a result of the collaborative work of faculty, staff, and students STAC was certified as a Fair-Trade Campus.
Outside of work, Rossen loves to spend time with his wife and three boys. He also loves to take pictures, read, and watch his favorite show X-files. His two current favorite books are “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” and “Dune.”