Hany Shawky's Star Shines Bright
by Paul A. Miller, MA '21
ALBANY, N.Y. (Sept. 24, 2026) — Growing up, many children have their heads in the proverbial clouds. Hany Shawky had his in the cosmos.
As a young boy in Cairo, Egypt, Shawky imagined a future spent unraveling the mysteries of the universe. He earned degrees in physics and chemistry, traveled to the United States to continue his studies and expected to spend his career as a physicist. Then fate intervened. After the historic Apollo moon missions, America's space program dramatically slowed in the 1970s.
"The news was that the space program had ended in America, and physicists were only delivering pizza," Shawky says with a laugh. "There were no jobs for physicists at that time."
Shawky's unbridled curiosity attracted him to what he felt was another vast and equally wild frontier: the stock market. He found that finance was as amazing a subject matter as science. So, he wandered into a few business classes, a scientist lost in space.
"I had never taken a business course in my life until I came to America," he recalls. "Before I knew it, I was doing an MBA."
That unexpected detour led to a remarkable 47-year career at the University at Albany, defined not only by scholarship and leadership but also by an unwavering commitment to his students and colleagues.
Since joining the University at Albany in 1978, Shawky has worn nearly every hat imaginable within the Massry School of Business. He served as professor, department chair, founding director of the Center for Institutional Investment Management (CIIM), associate dean and interim dean. Along the way, he helped build nationally recognized programs, expanded opportunities for experiential learning and earned recognition as one of the world's most respected finance scholars.
Yet ask Shawky what mattered most, and the conversation turns away from respected publications and vaunted titles.
"I love the school," he says. "And I love the students. This was my life."
That simple and heart-held philosophy shaped everything he did. Whether mentoring doctoral candidates, helping launch CIIM or collaborating with colleagues to strengthen the School of Business, Shawky believed the University's greatest investment was always its people. Serving as department chair for nearly two decades proved especially meaningful because it allowed him to guide the next generation of faculty, just as senior professors had once guided him.
"Being chair was the most satisfying for me because I knew I was helping faculty," he says. "And I was taking care of students."
The gravitational pull of those relationships has lasted far beyond graduation. Former students working across Wall Street and the financial industry remain close to Shawky, many crediting him not only for teaching them finance but also for opening doors and encouraging them throughout their careers.
Their admiration came full circle when alumni and members of the CIIM board joined to help establish the Professor Hany Shawky Endowed Scholarship. Their contributions to the $30M Inspire the Next campaign to support the Massry School of Business, coupled with Shawky's own gift, create lasting support for future finance students. The generosity of former students and colleagues is an expression of gratitude that deeply moved him.
"It was one of the best things in my life, to be appreciated that way," he says.
For Shawky, the scholarship is simply another way to invest in future students. It ensures that the work he devoted his life to continues now that he has stepped away from the classroom.
When asked what he's most proud of that doesn't appear on his résumé, he takes a minute to reflect on nearly five decades in academia. A smile, broad and earnest breaks across his affable face. It isn't a publication, an endowed center or a leadership title. It's the opportunity he had to help others.
"Who else would have a better job than me?" he asks. "I served the students all my life. I interact with great students who are aspiring to be great people. This is the best career one can have."