Educator, philanthropist and retired bank executive William Longbrake, DBA ’76, has pledged $1 million to support the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The unrestricted gift will provide flexibility to the school, where Longbrake serves as Executive-in-Residence and a member of the Board of Advisors.

An organization led by University of Maryland finance professor Lemma W. Senbet helped senior policymakers bring rigor and evidence to economic policymaking in Africa.

To make it as a woman in the male-dominated finance industry, you have to be assertive. And key to that is having – or faking – confidence, says Marguerita M. Cheng, CEO of investment advisory firm Blue Ocean Wealth. "I learned to assert myself through the skills that I have," says Cheng, a 1993 graduate of the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. Cheng began her career on Wall Street as an analyst, but wanted to work more closely with clients. She became a Certified Financial Planner and transitioned into wealth management.

Factors and implications surrounding the financial crisis of 2008 was the focus of a recent presentation by Martin J. Gruenberg, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, hosted by the Center for Financial Policy at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. Smith Professor of Finance Haluk Ünal introduced Gruenberg to students, faculty and staff gathered in the Frank Auditorium for the Nov. 3, 2017 event, titled “The Financial Crisis and its Aftermath.”

Russell Wermers, professor of finance and director of the 

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Markets will respond when President Trump nominates a new Federal Reserve chairperson in January 2018. But Wall Street legend and financial historian Henry Kaufman said the reason the decision matters so much has more to do with the Fed’s recent failures than its successes. “The Federal Reserve has vaulted itself into a position of high prominence not because of its achievements, but because of its shortcomings,” Kaufman writes in his latest book, which he discussed on Sept.

Smith School Adds Endowed Chair in Financial History A Conversation with Henry KaufmanSept. 13 at 6:15 p.m.Tyser Auditorium, Van Munching HallRSVP NOW

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Revelation this week of Berkshire Hathaway dumping its $315 million stake in General Electric is stoking doubt in the blue chip stock.

The Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Advanced Professional Development Program is considered the premier training program for professionals in the growing and ever-evolving field of enterprise risk management. A partnership between the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and the American Bankers Association, this program identifies and addresses emerging concerns within each of the key risk categories: credit risk management, asset-liability management and business risk management.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Is the growing gig economy skewing the national labor market participation rate?