U-Md. Robert H. Smith School of Business Receives $1M from Henry & Elaine Kaufman Foundation to Support Fellowship in Business History

College Park, Md. – May 4, 2010 – The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced it will receive a $1 million endowment from the Henry & Elaine Kaufman Foundation to support a fellowship in business history, in affiliation with the school’s Center for Financial Policy. University of Maryland history professor David Sicilia was appointed the first Henry Kaufman Fellow in Business History, effective July 1.

Henry Kaufman, a world-renowned economist and author, first became involved with the Center for Financial Policy last fall when he spoke to business leaders, policy makers, faculty and students at two separate events about the financial crisis and his recent book, “The Road to Financial Reformation: Warnings, Consequences, Reforms.” In this and previous books and in many influential addresses and editorials during his long and distinguished Wall Street career, Dr. Kaufman has cautioned against credit overexpansion and regulatory lapses now seen as underpinning the recent financial collapse. Commenting on his gift to the Smith School, Dr. Kaufman observed that “business and financial history are no longer integral parts of business school education, and that is a major lapse.”

The Center for Financial Policy was launched in fall 2009 and serves as a forum for the exchange of views among research leaders, policy makers and institutions that grapple with cutting-edge financial policy issues for both the private and public sectors. The center holds roundtable events and hosts top speakers. The Academic Fellows Program, the first of which is the Henry Kaufman Fellow in Business History, is intended to help foster cross-disciplinary research and thought leadership.

“This fellowship in business history helps us achieve the overall mission of the new Center for Financial Policy,” said G. “Anand” Anandalingam, dean of the Robert H. Smith School of Business. “This fellowship signifies an important new direction in the educational mission of the Smith School’s curriculum in ensuring that our current business students are taught critically important lessons from the history of finance and the capitalist system, and that current policy makers understand the importance of business history when making decisions.”

In his role as business history fellow, professor Sicilia will focus on engaging in and publishing academic research, and he will help develop programs that highlight the strategic implications of business history that support the Center for Financial Policy’s mission of promoting research and education that informs policy. The fellowship is a five-year renewable appointment.

About the Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research. One of 13 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland at College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and part-time MBA, executive MBA, MS in business, Ph.D. and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs at locations in North America and Asia.