When Dr. Bryan Foltice left behind the world of investment banking for academia, it wasn’t because he lost his edge for numbers – it was because he started questioning their meaning.
A professional athlete turned finance professional turned professor, Dr. Foltice’s path to the Lacy School of Business has been anything but linear, yet every step seems to have led him exactly to where he’s meant to be.
It started in Germany, where Dr. Foltice was playing professional basketball after college. “The only English channel I had at the time was CNBC,” the Associate Professor of Finance laughed.” That’s what got me curious about finance.
That curiosity turned into a career once he moved back to the U.S., earning his Masters of Business Administration at the University of North Florida after completing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Cornerstone University. But success in the fast-paced world of investment banking didn’t feel like fulfillment. “I was good at what I did, but I started asking myself, is this all there is? What kind of purpose do you find in this?”
His mentors told him that purpose wasn’t part of the job – you just made money and found fulfillment elsewhere. That answer didn’t sit right with him. He decided to explore other options, which brought him back to Germany for a Ph.D. in finance. That’s where he realized that academia could be something long-term – something with meaning.
When he began his academic job search, Butler University was at the top of his list. As a Michigan native, the Midwest felt like home. “But it wasn’t just that. The first week I was here, I remember thinking, everyone’s so nice. I told myself, give it two weeks, the niceness will wear off,” he said. “Eleven years later, it still hasn’t.”
Dr. Foltice brings a global lens and a team-player mindset to his classroom – both shaped by his time overseas. Playing professional basketball in Germany taught him that leadership is about action, not words – that people know you care not because you say it, but because you show it. It’s a lesson that finds its way into his teaching style, where connection and empathy are just as important as numbers and models. His time abroad also reinforced that “different isn’t bad – it’s just different,” a mindset he now encourages his students to embrace, whether they study abroad or simply begin to view finance through a broader, global perspective.
Today, Dr. Foltice teaches international finance, investment, and behavioral finance – a field he’s particularly passionate about.
“When I was working during the financial crisis, people would yell at me for losing their money,” he said with a grin. “I realized people feel losses twice as much as they feel gains. That’s behavioral finance in real life.”
His classroom has become a place where those real-world lessons come to life, preparing students not just to understand markets but to understand people. “If you’ve had me in class, you’ve got me for life,” Dr. Foltice said. “That’s the Foltice lifetime guarantee. Students still reach out years later to talk about jobs, careers, or personal finances. That’s the best part of this work – the relationships that last.”
That same passion for financial literacy led to the creation of Money Strong, a personal finance initiative he co-founded with Randy Brown, an executive career mentor at LSB. The two started at Butler around the same time but didn’t meet until nearly nine years later – thanks to a few mutual connections who insisted they had to. Once they finally connected, they realized they’d been working toward the same goal from different angles. What began as a simple idea quickly became a movement.
Dr. Foltice and Randy proposed a series of personal finance “Money Talks” that were approved for Butler Cultural Requirement credits within 20 minutes. Students packed the sessions – some even sitting on the floor. Dr. Foltice recalled how the atmosphere shifted once students realized the content applied directly to their lives. From there, the program grew rapidly, supported by a Robinhood Markets, Inc. grant and the addition of new behavioral and personal finance courses, including a one-credit financial well-being class that filled up almost immediately.
For Dr. Foltice, the goal is simple: make financial literacy accessible to every student, regardless of major.
“We all have to play the game of money,” he said. “So, we might as well learn the rules.” Through Money Strong, he’s helping students do just that – building confidence, knowledge, and healthier financial habits that extend far beyond graduation.
Outside the classroom, Dr. Foltice’s philosophy of “financial wellness” extends to life itself. For him, it’s not about hitting a specific number or chasing success for its own sake. Instead, he measures a rich life through what he calls the five F’s: finances, family, fitness, fun, and fulfillment. He’s proud to be a hands-on dad to two teenage sons and prioritizes balance and health, reminding his students that while high-pressure careers can be exciting, they’re rarely sustainable long-term. And when it’s time to unwind, he’s all about karaoke – especially anything 80s rock.
“You’ve got to have fun,” he said. “Life’s too short to take yourself too seriously.”
After more than a decade at LSB, Dr. Foltice says what keeps him energized is seeing the ripple effect of his work.
“When you start to see the students you taught ten years ago mentoring the students you have now – that’s when you know the impact is growing exponentially,” he said. “That’s what drives me. Doing good work, in the right way, and watching it multiply.”