Mortgage Credit Risk Remains Low, Stable in New Report from UMD’s Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium
Smith Brain Trust
Summer Reading List 2025
World Class Faculty & Research
Smith Faculty Receive UMD Grants for AI Research Projects
Alumni
May 27, 2025
Charity Fundraisers: Building a Quality Product to Benefit Nonprofits
Brian Rechtman ’05, founder of Bluetree Marketing, helps nonprofits raise funds through curated experiences and auctions. Inspired by Smith School advice to “sell the best,” he’s built a social enterprise that’s supported nearly 10,000 charity events worldwide.
Student
May 21, 2025
Seizing Opportunity: Smith Student Leads While Learning
Darrell Lipscomb, MS Accounting ’25, a former Army chaplain's assistant, leads with service and drive. Now Smith Master’s Student Association president, he’s building community, mentoring peers, and preparing for a finance career—with a KPMG internship and CPA goals ahead.
Faculty
Name That Tune: Smith Professor Combines Academic Rigor, Entrepreneurial Application and Musical Innovation
Associate Professor Daniel McCarthy blends rigorous research with creative teaching tools—like music—to make marketing analytics memorable. His focus on customer-based valuation, real-world applications, and student engagement helps transform complex concepts into impactful, real-life learning experiences.
June 03, 2025
Credit risk for GSE-eligible mortgages remained low and stable in Q3 2024, according to indexes from the Smith Enterprise Risk Consortium, though risk has gradually increased since 2021 due to borrower composition and loan term shifts.
May 29, 2025
Smith School professors earned AI research seed grants from UMD’s AIM Institute. Louiqa Raschid and Eaman Jahani will use AI for public health; Lauren Rhue will explore legal limits of AI-generated content. AIM awarded 22 grants across interdisciplinary categories.
Experiential / Reality-based Learning
May 28, 2025
Experiential Learning Class Uses Thought Leader Support and Real-world Clients to Prepare Students
Master’s in Management students tackle real-world business challenges in Roy Thomason’s experiential learning class, partnering with companies like MLB and ServiceNow to develop solutions. The project-based course builds skills in leadership, strategy and teamwork while preparing students for professional success.
Faculty Insights On Latest News
May 30, 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.
May 14, 2025
The Tax Revenue and Problem-Gambling Balancing Act
Research co-authored by associate professor Dan McCarthy finds that online sports betting legalization has led to a rise in irresponsible gambling, especially among lower-income individuals. The study highlights financial risks and calls for safeguards to mitigate potential societal harm.
The Language of Buying: Deciphering AI Conversations
Marketing PhD student Ziting Liao, with faculty Liye Ma and Wendy Moe, developed a model predicting purchase intent from AI assistant interactions. By analyzing language patterns, the tool helps advertisers better target consumers and optimize strategies based on intent.
Are You Ready for the Future? AI Can Help
Joseph Reiff, assistant professor of marketing, co-invented The Retirement Visualizer™, an AI tool using GPT and DALL·E to help individuals vividly imagine retirement goals. By making the future feel tangible, it aims to boost motivation and increase retirement savings.
