Faculty News

Finance Professor Jeffrey H. Bergstrand was elected president of the International Economics and Finance Society (IEFS) in December, a recognition by his peers of his extensive contributions to international finance and economics research. Bergstrand, who also is the associate dean of Graduate Business Programs, is a top researcher worldwide with expertise in international trade, foreign direct investment, trade and investment policies, and exchange rates.

The IEFS is an international organization of academic and professional economists with interests in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment, migration, international finance and open-economy macroeconomics.

Dodd-Frank Close Up

In 2013, the Center for the Study of Financial Regulation focused its annual conference on the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, a sweeping piece of legislation passed by Congress in 2010 largely in response to the financial crisis. In November, MIT Press published transcripts from the conference, “Perspectives on Dodd-Frank and Finance,” edited by Center Director Paul Schultz.

In this book, experts on Dodd-Frank and financial regulation — academics, regulators and practitioners — discuss the ways that the law is likely to succeed and where it will come up short. The contributors also consider the broader context of regulatory issues: banking reform, the regulation of derivatives, mortgage reform and the Volcker Rule, among other topics.

Award Winning Research

Finance professors Timothy Loughran (left) and Bill McDonald won the inaugural Hillcrest Behavioral Finance Award for their paper, “The Use of Word Lists in Textual Analysis.” The paper utilizes Big Data techniques to study methods of assessing the tone of business documents as part of stock selection analysis.

The Hillcrest Behavioral Finance Award seeks to recognize excellence in research through the selection of a current non-published academic paper on the subject of behavioral finance. Judging criteria includes significance of the paper to the field of behavioral finance; the extent to which the paper contained a new idea; greatest impact to the professional investment community; use of appropriate methodological rigor; and clarity of writing the paper or the presentation.

Malpass Honored (MBA ’86, ’84)

Scott Malpass, vice president and chief investment officer at the University of Notre Dame, was awarded an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Portland. The university noted Malpass’ success in partnering with “the most sophisticated investment management organizations throughout the world, which has allowed the Notre Dame endowment to achieve top-tier investment performance over both short- and long-term time periods.”

Malpass serves as a concurrent assistant professor of finance in the Mendoza College of Business, and helped develop the College’s signature Applied Investment Management course for outstanding students in finance. He recently joined a group of veteran professional investors to establish a not-for-profit company called Catholic Investment Services, which assists in managing the endowments of all types of Catholic organizations.

Managing Millennials

Millennials are uniquely and inherently poised for ethical business leadership, and managers can cultivate their strengths to advance business for good, Jessica McManus Warnell explains in her new book, Engaging Millennials for Ethical Leadership. Designed for millennials and their managers, the book provides strategies structured around millennial capacities such as teamwork skills, technological fluency, commitment to social issues and a preference for mentorship.

McManus, a management associate professional specialist, drew upon emerging research and perspectives from students and corporate executives for the book. Engaging Millennials also incorporates the Giving Voice to Values framework originated by Mary Gentile of Babson College, a pedagogical approach that translates ethics into action through values-based decision making.

Engaging China

Marketing Professor Georges Enderle weighed into the debate surrounding Notre Dame’s licensing policies regarding Chinese manufacturers during an event convened by the Office of the Executive President in January. The Worker Participation Panel Discussion brought together students and faculty from business and the Law School to examine Notre Dame’s moral responsibility to support international workers’ rights and freedom of association.

The panel’s debate centered on whether Notre Dame should implement a pilot program aimed at increasing worker participation in several Chinese factories. The pilot program, proposed by the Worker Participation Committee created by Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves, would allow for the production of Notre Dame-licensed items in China — a departure from the University’s policy regarding licensing since 1999.

Enderle, the John T. Ryan Professor of International Business Ethics, supports the implementation of the pilot program because of its potential to establish better relations with China on a business as well as academic level. “We should be a source for the good, not only at Notre Dame on campus but also worldwide,” he said. “That is my deep conviction ... We should not shun China, but we should engage China. I can tell you that this is not easy.”

Extraordinary Honor

Rev. Oliver Williams, CSC, has been appointed as professor extraordinary at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, located in Cape Town, South Africa. The three-year appointment is given to individuals in recognition for their specialized expertise, eminence in the profession and field of study, and to involve them in the business school’s programs.

Williams specializes in the areas of business ethics, corporate governance, and Catholic social teaching. He is the editor or author of 22 books, and numerous journal articles on business ethics, as well as the director of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business. In 2006, Williams was appointed a member of the three-person board of directors at the United Nations Global Compact Foundation, a voluntary corporate citizenship initiative with more than 8,000 businesses around the world as members.

Onboardings

Sarv Devaraj will become chair of the Department of Management as of July 1. The Fred V. Duda Professor of Business joined Notre Dame in 1997 after earning his doctor- ate in business administration from Curtis L. Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Devaraj is an award-winning re- searcher with expertise in health-care management, supply chain management, business analytics, the business value of technology, and quality and productivity management. He teaches courses related to IT management and quantitative methods at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Rev. David Tyson, CSC, will take over as the Luke McGuinness Director of Non-profit Professional Development, starting July 1. Tyson most recently served as a management professional specialist and teaching professor at Mendoza.

He previously held a variety of positions on the Notre Dame staff and faculty in the 1970s and 1980s, including executive assistant to then University President Father Theodore Hesburgh, CSC, and as vice president for Student Affairs.

Tyson earned his Doctor of Education degree from Indiana University, and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Notre Dame for his contributions to the University, the Congregation of Holy Cross and Catholic higher education. The University of Portland awarded him its highest accolade, the Christus Magister Medal, for outstanding service to the University and Catholic higher education in the United States. He also received the highest civilian award, the Outstanding Civilian Service Medal, from the Department of the U.S. Army in providing guidance and support for military education in the context of a University.