The Finance and Economics Department of Columbia Business School is proud to announce that Professor R.A. Farrokhnia has been named the recipient of the coveted and prestigious Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, an honored bestowed to faculty members who demonstrate utmost commitment to the highest teaching standards and students' learning as well as creativity and innovation in curriculum development. Recipients are selected by the Dean's Office following a rigorous selection process based on a multitude of criteria, including course evaluations and students' feedback.The distinction was conferred by Dean R. Glenn Hubbard on Prof. Farrokhnia for his teaching of the top-ranked Master Class "Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Financial Service: Private Equity and Venture Capital Perspectives (EIFS)," a course designed and developed by Prof. Farrokhnia himself. In presenting the award at the general assembly of Business School faculty, Dean Hubbard noted that the recipients represent and teach courses that are "not only just excellently done, but also do well in terms of bringing the ideas and talent of the person in front of the room to the students."In describing the EIFS's theme and curriculum coverage, Prof. Farrokhnia explained that the course investigates the notions of transformational innovation and growth strategies, in both private equity and venture capital, that are executable within the means of the portfolio companies, in particular in regard to their corporate capabilities, financial assets, and human capital. Combining the best of academic research and teachings with hands-on experience through the participation of buyside sponsor firms, EIFS students assimilate a unique, structured, and multidisciplinary perspective into the theory and practice of unlocking value-creation potential that resides at the intersection of financial engineering, operational turnaround/restructuring, and innovation-driven growth.The ultimate goal of the course is to teach students the necessary knowhow to successfully merge and apply deep financial, business, and operational analytics skills with inventive lateral-thinking acumen, market- and consumer insight, and creative design. Such cross-pollination of ideas often leads to truly transformational and executable innovation, be it for new products or services of an established private equity-owned portfolio company or a nimble start-up part of a venture capital investment firm. Of note is the considerable time and effort that is dedicated to ensure that the course content is at the leading edge of the industries' best practices so to empower the students with the most relevant and up-to-date skill sets to thrive in a competitive industry that is experiencing rapid changes.The Finance and Economics Department of Columbia Business School congratulates Professor R.A. Farrokhnia for his impressive achievement.