SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Could the tax deduction you take on mortgage interest actually result in a tax audit from the IRS? How about the early withdrawal you made from your retirement account last year, or the charitable donation you made? Smith School lecturer Samuel Handwerger warns that the deductions you plan to take this year could put your income-tax return squarely in the crosshairs of an IRS auditor.

The Marketing Department at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business ranks No. 6 in the world for faculty research productivity, according to the latest tally from the American Marketing Association. The rankings take into account the number of research publications for the 10-year period from 2007 to 2016 in four top marketing journals: Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research and Marketing Science. Smith School faculty contributed 83 papers to the four journals in 10 years.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – The latest potential threat to real estate in America may be found at the local shopping center, as mall landlords grapple with a crush of vacancies and, faced with the prospect of restructuring their debt, decide to walk away instead. The moves, a worrying echo of the 2008 housing crisis, have left lenders saddled with failing shopping centers and looking to dump them at discount prices. And that threatens to erode nearby home prices.

Roland T. Rust, Distinguished University Professor and David Bruce Smith Chair in Marketing at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, was recently interviewed by the American Marketing Association (AMA) in the “Marketing Legends” video series.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – A U.S.-Mexican border wall: President Donald Trump says he is ready to build one. And 84 Lumber wants to attach one to its brand, starting Super Bowl Sunday. Both have their critics.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – President Donald Trump signed an executive order this week to formally walk away from the Trans Pacific Partnership, in what looked like the final chapter for the 12-nation trade deal. 

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Clowns are creepy and dancing elephants upset PETA, so maybe the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus had no chance. After producing the greatest show on earth for 146 years, the three-ring spectacle announced Saturday that it will close forever in May.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Several world leaders opted out of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week. Xi Jinping didn't.

The recent Department of Homeland Security designation of state election assets as U.S. critical infrastructure – if it stands -- is a key to mitigating cyber threats to American democracy, said a researcher during the Forum on Financial Information Systems and Cybersecurity: A Public Policy Perspective on Jan. 11, 2017 at the University of Maryland.

All faculty, program directors, deans, department chairs, alumni, and students of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business are invited to nominate deserving Smith School faculty members (i.e., tenured, tenure-track, clinical, Professor of the Practice, lecturer, adjunct, or Ph.D. student) for one of several teaching awards. Nominations are due by March 3, 2017, and awards will be presented in May. Allen J. Krowe Award for Teaching Excellence