World Class Faculty & Research
Smith School Celebrates Third INFORMS Marketing Science Fellow P. K. Kannan
MSIS Mentorship Program Uses AI to Strengthen Alumni-Student Connections
Smith Research
A Way to Minimize the Pension Problem
Alumni
July 01, 2025
Smith MBA Alumnus on Learning at Industry Speed
Marc Russo, MBA ’96, is CEO of Careforth, a company supporting family caregivers. He credits his Smith MBA with shaping his leadership path across top healthcare firms and says team-based learning at Smith prepared him for long-term success.
June 27, 2025
A Legacy of Love
Deborah ’68, MA ’75, and Daniel Ahalt ’73, inspired by their UMD experiences and modest upbringings, have given over $200,000 to support Smith students and athletes. Their lifelong Terp pride continues through philanthropy, mentorship and cherished university memories.
Terp Siblings Share Smith and Paris Olympics Experience
Sisters Brooke ’21 and Emma DeBerdine ’23, MiM ’25, played for Maryland and Team USA Field Hockey, competing in the 2024 Olympics. Both earned All-American honors, Big Ten Medals of Honor, and Smith degrees that shaped their paths.
July 17, 2025
P. K. Kannan, associate dean and marketing professor at the Smith School, was named a Fellow of the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science, honoring his decades of influential research, mentorship, and service in digital marketing, analytics, and marketing science.
Smith MSIS students launched a mentorship program connecting 80 students with 20 alumni mentors. Powered by LighthouseAI, the initiative enhances career guidance, tracks progress, and fosters long-term professional relationships. Expansion to other cohorts and programs is planned.
July 14, 2025
Smith’s Jie Zhang and PhD Graduate Min Kim Earn Prestigious AMA Award
Smith professor Jie Zhang and PhD alum Min Kim won the AMA’s 2025 Don Lehmann Award for their Journal of Marketing Research article on predicting online shopping preferences in dynamic, large-scale retail assortments.
Faculty Insights On Latest News
May 30, 2025
Summer Reading List 2025
Get ready for summer with the 22nd Annual Summer Reading List for Business Leaders—featuring Smith School faculty picks on investing, neuroscience, human connection, and more, including a novel inspired by a radio show turned TV series.
Management and Organization
April 24, 2025
“The Future is Not What it Used to Be”
Ambiguity arises when choices must be made despite unclear outcomes, says Professor J. Gerald Suarez. In today’s fast-paced world, discernment, flexibility, and embracing uncertainty—not rigid control—are key to navigating change, complexity, and an unpredictable future.
Marketing
October 04, 2024
Small Businesses Take Big Hit from Apple’s Privacy Regulation
Smith marketing professor Daniel McCarthy's research found that Apple's 2021 App Tracking Transparency (ATT) significantly impacted small direct-to-consumer businesses. ATT caused a 37% drop in ad click-through rates and up to a 60% revenue decline for smaller firms reliant on Facebook ads.
Logistics, Business and Public Policy
July 15, 2025
Public pensions face mounting pressure amid economic uncertainty and legal battles. The Smith School’s T. Leigh Anenson offers a legal framework for reform, advocating “contract minimalism” to balance state budget constraints with fair protections for employee retirement benefits.
Accounting and Information Assurance
Study Shows EPA’s Unintended Effect on Voluntary Climate Disclosures by Public Firms
Public firms disclose significantly less about environmental risks when under EPA scrutiny, new research by Mark Zakota shows. His study highlights how such oversight may undermine SEC climate-transparency efforts—unless firms improve governance or agencies better coordinate enforcement.
Why Managers Reject Great Ideas
Managers often overlook employee innovations due to risk aversion. Smith researchers Vijaya Venkataramani and Kay Bartol found diverse networks—both managerial and employee—help ideas gain credibility and traction, fostering an environment where innovation is more likely to succeed.
