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Photo: Bruce Fritz

Eight tenure-track faculty members joined the Wisconsin School of Business in fall 2008, the most in many years. Pictured are: (left to right, in front) María del Carmen Triana and Xia Chen. Pictured in back row: Youchang Wu, William Weld, Amber Epp, Robin Tanner, and Qiang Cheng. Not pictured: Bjørn Eraker

Faculty and Research

At the forefront in expanding knowledge

Our faculty provide intellectual leadership and expand knowledge through groundbreaking research, awarding-winning teaching, and innovative outreach.

A major impact of the Wisconsin Naming Gift has been our ability to recruit and retain outstanding faculty members. In fall 2008, eight new tenure-track faculty members joined the Wisconsin School of Business, the most in many years.

The school is strategically allocating resource to bolster faculty research budgets to enhance their research productivity. Another major ongoing initiative is a redesign of the faculty and research portion of the school’s Website to provide easier access to faculty research.


Jan Heide profile

In summer 2008, the school began a new faculty research seminar series called “Rays of Research.” The weekly series provides a forum for intellectual exchange and social interaction among faculty and Ph.D. students from across all seven of the school’s departments.

Wisconsin School of Business faculty have earned national and international honors for their accomplishments.

A sampling of recent activities:

  • In 2007, our faculty members published 53 peer-reviewed articles in top-tier publications.
  • Toni Whited won the 2007 Brattle Prize for Distinguished Corporate Finance for a Journal of Finance article. She also received the 2005 Brattle Prize.
  • Mason Carpenter co-authored a new textbook “Strategic Management: A Dynamic Perspective.” This book is being used in more than 1,500 classes throughout the U.S. and has been translated into Chinese, Russian, and Spanish.
  • Morris Davis testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee in December 2007 on the impact of declining home prices on the U.S. economy.

Ph.D. Program

The mission of our Ph.D. program is to attract and develop the next generation of leading business scholars.

We are investing in the PhD program to enhance the school’s research quality and productivity and provide the school with a valuable teaching resource. Several initiatives are underway to encourage and enhance Ph.D. student research, including a new Ph.D. student research competition. We also are working to enhance our ability to recruit top-flight Ph.D. candidates.