The Department of Finance hosts academic seminars to facilitate faculty and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) student engagement and learning with scholars from peer schools. If you have any questions or would like to be a presenter, email: william_johnson@uml.edu.

Fall 2025

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Sept 19Nadya MelenkoBoston CollegeCustom Proxy Voting Advice
Oct 17Katharina LewellenDartmouth College
Nov 14Steven IrbeckUniversity of New Hampshire

Spring 2025

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Feb 7Michelle LowryDrexel UniversityCorporate Lobbying of Bureaucrats

Fall 2024

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Sept 20Anh TranUniversity of ConnecticutUnveiling Mutual Funds’ Securities Lending Strategies: Value versus Volume
Oct 18Lauren CohenHarvard UniversityThe Economics of Aisle Crossing: Depolarizing the US Congress
Oct 25Rani HoitashBentley UniversityThe Alumni Effect: Unpacking the Influence of Executives and Non-Executive Former Auditors on Public Company Audits

Spring 2024

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Feb 9Andrey MalenkoBoston CollegeVoting Choice
Mar 29Eric SoMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Portfolio Recompositions to Achieve Higher Morningstar Ratings
Apr 19Michael WittryOhio StateResolving Estimation Ambiguity

Fall 2023

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Sept 29Thomas ChemmanurBoston CollegeThe Entrepreneurial Finance of Fintech Firms and the Effect of Investments in Fintech Startups on the Performance of Corporate Investors
Oct 27Tong LiuMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyLearning by Investing: Entrepreneurial Spillovers from Venture Capital
Nov 17Anya MkrtchyanUMass AmherstEmployee Responses to CEO Activism

Spring 2023

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Feb 3Michael GoldsteinBabson CollegeDo Firms Set Pension Discount Rates Strategically?
Mar 24Zhaozhao HeUniversity of New HampshireWho benefits from removing restrictions in labor mobility?
Apr 14Yadi WangUMass LowellManaging Less Redeployable Assets Through Better Employee Treatment

Fall 2022

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Nov 4Daniel BergstresserBrandeis UniversityDo Risk Premia Explain Dealer Markups in Municipal Bond Offering?
Oct 14Jason JiangTemple UniversityLawyer CEOs and Corporate Innovation
Oct 4Mengchao AiManning School of Business, UMass LowellBoard Centrality and Innovation Search Strategy
Sept 22Charles WangHarvard UniversityGovernance Transparency and Firm Value: Evidence from Korean Chaebols
Sept 16Yiming QianUniversity of ConnecticutMisconduct and Fundraising in Private Equity

Spring 2022

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Ap 29Eric YeungCornell UniversityThe Information Advantage of Industry Common Blockholders and Its Spillover Effect on Stock Prices Crash Risk
Apr 22Michael EwensCalifornia Institute of TechnologyLocal Journalism under Private Equity Ownership
Apr 15Matthew GustafsonPennsylvania State UniversityDoes Being Private Constrain Geographic Expansion?
Mar 4Tingting LiuIowa State UniversityClassified Boards: Endangered Species or Hidden in Plain Sight?

Fall 2021

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Dec 10Huseyin GulenPurdue UniversityIntangible Capital in Factor Models
Nov 19Hieu PhanUMass LowellShareholder / Creditor Conflict of Interest and Corporate Social Responsibility
Sept 24Jung Chul ParkUniversity of South FloridaMigration Networks and Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Decisions
Sept 17Peter HaslagVanderbilt UniversityCOVID-19 Migratory Response and the Municipal Debt Market

Spring 2021

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Apr 30Paul LauxUniversity of DelawareThe Effect of Media-linked Directors on Financing and External Governance
Apr 23Xiaoding LiuTexas A&M UniversityShared Culture and Technological Innovation: Evidence from Corporate Research and Development (R&D) Teams
Mar 26Xiaoran NiXiamen UniversityModern Information Technology and Firm Acquisitiveness: Evidence from EDGAR Implementation

Fall 2020

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Oct 30Linghang ZengBabson CollegeFirm-specific Shocks and Asset Reallocation Across Firms: Empirical Evidence
Oct 16Caroline FlammerBoston UniversityImpact Investing and the Fostering of Entrepreneurship in Disadvantaged Urban Areas: Evidence from Microdata in French Banliueus
Oct 2Phong NgoAustralian National UniversityFinancial Media as a Money Doctor: Evidence from Refinancing Decisions

Fall 2019

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Dec 13Lingling WangUniversity of ConnecticutDisclosure Length and Disclosure Effectiveness: Evidence from the Compensation Discussion and Analysis (CD&A) Mandate
Dec 11Daniel GreenHarvard UniversityCorporate Refinancing, Covenants, and the Agency Cost of Debt
Nov 1Nataliya ZaiatsSuffolk UniversityShort Seller Attention and Corporate Customer News
Sept 13Namho KingBentley UniversityCommon ownership, price informativeness, and corporate investment

Spring 2019

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Apr 19Jaideep ShenoyUniversity of ConnecticutLabor unions and product quality failures
Mar 22Mark EganHarvard UniversityArbitration with Uninformed Consumers
Mar 1Yijia (Eddie) ZhaoUMass BostonSyndicated Loan Liquidity: The Role of Bank Capital

Fall 2018

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Oct 19Kristina MinnickBentley UniversityA Game of Thrones – Dynamics of Internal Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Succession and Outcome
Sept 28Leonard KostovetskyBoston CollegeDigital Tulips? Returns to Investors in Initial Coin Offerings
Sept 12Tong (Tony) ZhouSung-Yat-Sen UniversityInnovation Awards, Product Segmentation, and Stock Returns

Spring 2018

DateGuest SpeakerAffiliationTitle of Presented Paper
Mar 29Fred BereskinUniversity of DelawareSo Sue Me! Re-discovery of Patent Value through Litigation
Mar 1Debarshi NandyBrandeis UniversityThe Geography of Innovation and Innovator Flows: Do Unions Matter