Another exciting semester is underway at the Smith School. We welcomed our largest freshman class ever this fall, with a 40% increase in acceptances over the past two years. Interest in our programs continues to grow across campus, with enrollments surging in our general business minor and financial wellness initiative.
We are also thrilled to announce we’re creating a new research center in behavioral finance, thanks to a generous gift from alumnus H. Kent Baker, MBA ’69, DBA ’72, M.Ed. ’74. His gift follows other recent gifts from Stephen M. Schanwald ’77 to endow our sports management program, and from Linda Lamone ’70, in honor of her late husband and former dean, Rudy Lamone, to rename our Dingman-Lamone Center for Entrepreneurship. We celebrated both of those gifts with events this fall.
We have several events this fall to encourage our students to ask questions, think independently and engage in civil discourse. The first was a fireside chat with former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Michael Faulkender, the William E. Longbrake Professor of Finance.
We are also honoring our amazing faculty. In March 2026, our Center for Financial Policy is hosting a conference to honor Albert “Pete” Kyle, Distinguished University Professor and Charles E. Smith Chair in Finance, and the 40-year impact of his groundbreaking research on market structure. This past summer we honored another leading researcher, Roland Rust, Distinguished University Professor and David Bruce Smith Chair in Marketing, for his contributions to the field of marketing.
We continue to look for innovative ways to push business education forward and make it accessible and practical in the evolving job market. We recently hosted a discussion with other business school leaders in our region to discuss strategies and solutions. One success we shared: In May, we introduced a free online Certificate in Artificial Intelligence and Career Empowerment that has attracted over 32,000 registrants.
We have a lot more keeping us busy this semester, and a lot more on the horizon!
Prabhudev C. Konana
Dean, Robert H. Smith School of Business
1. Smith to Create Behavioral Finance Center with Gift from H. Kent Baker MBA ’69, DBA ’72, M.Ed. ’74
Following a generous gift from alumnus and noted scholar H. Kent Baker, MBA ’69, DBA ’72, M.Ed. ’74, the Smith School will establish the H. Kent Baker Center for Behavioral Finance, creating only the second named center of its kind in the United States. “The Smith School has a wonderful finance faculty and great researchers in the area of behavioral finance,” said Baker. Baker’s gift will also create the Baker Endowed Chair in Behavioral Finance and provide additional endowed faculty support.Geoffrey Tate, the Dean’s Professor of Finance, and Albert “Pete” Kyle, Distinguished University Professor and the Charles E. Smith Chair in Finance, will be closely involved in the center. READ MORE
2. Smith Fosters Independent Thinking With Fall Events
Former Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Michael Faulkender — the William E. Longbrake Professor of Finance who served in the No. 2 post at the Treasury until earlier this year — candidly discussed economic policy in a fireside chat event on Sept. 25. It was the first event in the Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series and just one of many this fall to encourage students to engage in civil discourse, ask questions and think independently. As part of the Fact-Based Discourse Initiative, launched in 2024, Smith hosted the Heterodox Academy (HxA) Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference Sept. 26–27, where faculty, staff and students from Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina gathered to explore ways to strengthen intellectual diversity and open inquiry. On Oct. 28, the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets will host the Campus Liberty Tour Debate Series, in collaboration with the Steamboat Institute. The next debate will cover DEI programs. READ MORE
3. More than 32K Enroll in Smith AI Course for Career Empowerment
More than 32,000 learners worldwide have enrolled in Smith’s free online certificate course, Artificial Intelligence and Career Empowerment. Smith’s Office of Executive Education launched the course in May 2025, specifically designed for those transitioning from the federal civil service but open to all, to help build AI literacy, explore job opportunities and navigate career transitions with expert guidance. Balaji Padmanabhan, director of Smith’s Center for Artificial Intelligence in Business, initiated the course of 10 self-paced modules taught by top Smith faculty. READ MORE
4. Smith Welcomes Largest Freshman Class Ever
The Smith School welcomed the Class of 2029, its largest ever freshman class, at the fall 2025 Freshman Convocation, held Aug. 31 at Stamp Student Union. Faculty, staff, students and alumni welcomed the new students into the academic community as they officially kicked off their college journey. Enrollment in Smith's general business minor has surged from 369 students in 2022 to nearly 1,200 today, and the school’s Financial Wellness initiative now serves about 2,200 students. READ MORE
5. Smith Hosts Regional Business School Deans Meeting
In August, the Smith School hosted a meeting of business school leaders in the DMV region to talk about challenges surrounding master’s program enrollment, international students, financial resilience and the job market. The meeting was organized by Smith Dean Prabhudev Konana, along with Dean Raju Balakrishnan of the University of Baltimore’s Merrick School of Business and Dean Mary Ann Scully of Loyola University’s Sellinger School of Business and Management. Topics included “What does the future hold?” “What does the new business school look like?” “AI and business education” and “Collaboration and growth opportunities.” READ MORE
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About the University of Maryland's 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 12 colleges and schools at the University of Maryland, College Park, the Smith School offers undergraduate, full-time and flex MBA, executive MBA, online MBA, business master’s, PhD and executive education programs, as well as outreach services to the corporate community. The school offers its degree, custom and certification programs in learning locations in North America and Asia.