The Smith School’s world-class faculty discuss their latest research on topics of broad interest and importance at the ThoughtLeadership@Smith Speaker Series. Each presentation is followed by an opportunity to network with alumni and regional business leaders at one of Smith’s convenient local campuses in Washington, D.C., or Baltimore, Md.

Smith School faculty have been actively involved in advising key players and proposing potential solutions to the finance crisis, briefing congressional staffers, members of the House and Senate Committee on Banking and the Committee on Government Oversight, and the federal Oversight and Government Reform Committee on issues from the collapse of Bear Stearns to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

“This is the problem at hand, and it does need a solution,” said Sam Germaine, an associate at ETF Venture Funds who traveled from Philadelphia to attend the Robert H. Smith School of BusinessThoughtLeadership@Smith series event on Executive Compensation and Public Policy on September 18.

College Park, Md. – August 11, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced finance industry leaders Clifford Rossi and William Longbrake have joined the school to lead the new Center for Financial Policy, which will be launched this fall. Rossi was named managing director of the center and Longbrake will serve as an executive-in-residence and senior policy advisor.

College Park, Md. – August 11, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced finance industry leaders Clifford Rossi and William Longbrake have joined the school to lead the new Center for Financial Policy, which will be launched this fall. Rossi was named managing director of the center and Longbrake will serve as an executive-in-residence and senior policy advisor.

The Seventh Annual Maryland Finance Symposium, co-chaired by Lemma Senbet, William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance, and Vojislav Maksimovic, Dean's Chair Professor of Finance, provides a biennial forum for presentation and discussion of recent research by top scholars in the field. This year’s forum, held May 29-31, 2007, focused on Behavioral Finance and included papers discussing the limits of arbitrage, CEO overconfidence and myopia, herding and over/under-reaction in financial markets, trading behavior and volume, market timing and consumer finance.

Lemma Senbet, William E. Mayer Professor of Finance, was honored for his many years of service to the finance department, and the Smith School of Business, at a lavish dinner party at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., on October 5, 2006. The gala event was attended by about 90 people, including all the former chairs of the department, and a past dean of the University of Washington, who flew in specially for the event. Former Smith School Deans Rudy Lamone and Bill Mayer were also present to express their appreciation for Lemmas many contributions to the Smith School community.

College Park, MD May 30, 2006 The University of Marylands Robert H. Smith School of Business today announced professor Lemma Senbet has been named a fellow by the Financial Management Association International for his significant contributions to the profession through his career-long scholarship and service.

College Park, Md. - August 31, 2005 Lemma Senbet, holder of the William E. Mayer Chair in Finance at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business, was recently granted an honorary Doctor of Letters Honoris Causa from the Addis Ababa University (AAU), the oldest higher educational institution in Ethiopia and Senbets alma mater. AAU granted the honorary degree during its July 2005 commencement exercises in recognition of Senbets outstanding contributions to the discipline and practice of finance.

  Dean Howard Frank takes Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., on a tour of Van Munching Hall, home of the Robert H. Smith School of Business.