For Retiring Professor, Teaching Was Academia’s Greatest Reward

David Cox retired after more than 30 years at the Daniels College of Business

David Cox

The fall of 1987 marked two significant events in the finance world. The louder one, of course, was the global stock market crash, in which the world lost an estimated $1 trillion U.S. dollars.

Meanwhile, much more quietly, the Daniels College of Business gained a tremendous asset. That same October, finance faculty member Mac Clouse met and hired David Cox, who would spend the next 30 years teaching at the University of Denver.

Talk about a return on investment.

During his time on campus, Cox taught undergrads and grad students. He lectured in the Executive MBA program and through Daniels Executive Education. For a number of years, he served as the assistant director of MBA programs.

“We used to call him our utility professor,” said Clouse, using the term for a baseball player who can slot in at multiple positions on the field. “We could put him anywhere and he would do a good job. He loved teaching.”

For Cox, who retired in December as a teaching professor, the first word of his title has always been the most important.

“It reflected the way I viewed my job,” Cox explained. “Calling it ‘my job’ is wrong. Anyone that loves their job doesn’t really think of it as a job; they think of it is just a passion. The reason I liked it was the emphasis on teaching.”

Cox’s first opportunity to lecture came as a master’s student at Texas Tech University, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree. What started as a curiosity in finance and accounting became a passion. He loved examining a company’s business plan, learning more about how their past practices affected future profits. And he quickly fell in love with teaching.

In Denver, Cox began his post-collegiate career as a “lecturer” on a one-year contract—a contract that would be renewed annually for decades, a reward for his skill in the classroom.

But some of Cox’s biggest accomplishments came on a more macro level, in roles as senior lecturer, director of graduate programs and, a couple years later, as the assistant dean for MBA programs. In more senior positions, he had a hand in developing ethics-based curricula that drew national attention and became a cornerstone of the Daniels experience.

In particular, as part of the Daniels Executive Education team, he helped the College create courses in sustainable development, while maintaining relationships with key partners, like Newmont Mining.

While teaching at Daniels, Cox simultaneously enrolled at the University of Denver as a student. Graduating from law school not only provided Cox with a terminal degree, but with valuable perspective that he could apply—even if he didn’t practice as an attorney.

“I learned a lot about the practical elements of finance” while getting a JD, said Cox, who made sure to take a healthy portion of business-oriented law classes. “In finance we talk about loans and collateral and how mortgages work. And then you get into law school and you actually go through mechanically how they happened. You learn about lending and how they protect their loans and so on. It was all very relevant to what I was doing.”

In the classroom, a law degree changed the way he approached challenging lectures on complex topics, mixing numbers with breaks and humor.

But ask Cox for his favorite memories of his time at Daniels and he always comes back to the people. His colleagues brought him energy and inspiration. Student-athletes impressed him with their dedication and delivered the euphoria of national championships—all the more rewarding after seeing how hard they worked in class.

The comments on a farewell LinkedIn post document dozens of students who remember Cox’s classes and took his lessons to heart.

“What I really loved about the profession was the being in the classroom and seeing an impact on students,” Cox said, “having students after graduation and after a couple years of work come back and say, ‘Hey it really helped what you were saying.’”

Clouse, the man who hired him more than 30 years ago, said Cox’s reputation was well-known at Daniels.

“He was dedicated to what he did,” Clouse said. “He was a really good professor in the classroom, liked working with students. He got good evals from the students and gave us a lot of good coverage. He just helped out within the department, was a good advisor for students to talk to about careers and what they were doing.”

The future is still uncertain, but Cox is starting his retirement in his home state. Academia may be in the cards someday soon, but for now, he’s enjoying relaxing in West Texas wine country.

“[Teaching] is and was a great career,” he said, “but I’m looking forward to what this next phase is.”