New finance professor comes to UNF after completing Fulbright experience in Kosovo

It is safe to say that 2024 has been a year of new experiences for Dr. Blake Rayfield, an assistant professor of finance at the University of North Florida's Coggin College of Business. After receiving acceptance into the Fulbright Specialist Program last fall while teaching at Northern Arizona University (NAU), he jumped on his first opportunity to teach abroad this past summer. Fresh off the heels of that experience, Rayfield is navigating his first semester at UNF.

The Fulbright Specialist Program allows U.S. faculty and professionals to serve as expert consultants at academic institutions abroad for a period of two to six weeks.

Experience as a Fulbright Specialist

In July, Rayfield spent three weeks at Universiteti Haxhi Zeka in Kosovo working with faculty and students on the digitization of finance courses and best data analytics practices. He says his experience living in Kosovo was life changing, reflecting on the region's people-first culture, the welcoming nature of everyone he encountered and the delicious cuisine.

"Kosovo is a really beautiful country, and I hope more people take the opportunity to visit," he said.

While at NAU,Rayfield applied to the Fulbright Specialist Program based on conversations with his colleague Dr. Vlora Berisha, professor of finance and vice-dean for finance, budget and infrastructure at Universiteti Haxhi Zeka. They previously met when Berisha visited the states as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at NAU. She observed him teaching a finance course and they began discussing a professional project that would allow him to share modernized methods of teaching finance to the faculty at Universiteit Haxhi Zeka.

During his visit abroad, Rayfield had the opportunity to speak at seminars and collaborate with faculty from Malta on creating a Ph.D. in finance program to be taught in English. He also spent time teaching students from Poland, Albania and other European countries about fintech solutions.

"I taught a class to students on cryptocurrency and blockchain and they really loved it," said Rayfield. "They were so appreciative to learn more about the technology. It was a great experience."

Career in Finance and Joining The Nest

A native of Ocala, Florida, Rayfield began his undergraduate studies at Florida International University as a music composition major playing the French horn. While enrolled in a music business course, he realized that he liked finance and pursued it as his major. He proceeded to earn bachelor's and graduate degrees in finance and financial economics respectfully, while also spending time working in the finance industry before teaching at NAU.

Desiring a return to the Sunshine State, he accepted a position in the Coggin College in November 2023, before officially arriving on campus in August. According to Rayfield, UNF and the greater Jacksonville community offer the perfect setting to indulge in his professional and personal interests. The fintech scholar and enthusiast says there are multiple reasons he decided that UNF was the perfect place for him- citing UNF's new fintech programs as one of them.

"The opportunity to increase my research output, focus my attention on teaching a subject I really enjoy [fintech] and live closer to home are what attracted me to UNF," Rayfield said.

Currently teaching graduate courses in financial modeling and investments, he will begin teaching fintech courses in the spring 2025 semester. Rayfield says his experience at UNF thus far has been amazing and he is glad to be part of the Osprey community.

"It's been great," said Rayfield. "From the day that I accepted the job to now, everyone has been welcoming."