UConn Today – New research by UConn finance professor Xiang Zheng indicates that an improved bankruptcy procedure, designed to make reorganization easier and less expensive for small businesses, is proving successful in enabling many of those companies to regroup and remain in business.
Faculty
Professor Bird Speaks at Top Global Legal Research Center
UConn Today – Business law professor Robert Bird gave two lectures last month at the prestigious Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law in Hamburg, Germany.
The Institute is a top global center for foundational comparative legal research and is renowned for its academic rigor and expert policy advising.
Three New Faculty Members Join the School of Business
UConn Today – The School of Business is welcoming three new faculty members this Fall, who bring expertise in accounting, entrepreneurship, and real-estate research.
“Hiring new business faculty is always exciting, because the nature of our field is to stay on the cutting-edge of innovation and its application in the real world,’’ said Interim Dean Bob Day. “Looking at these three new hires and their current research programs I see innovation throughout: I see new taxation policies and new means of studying their implications; I see AI and autonomous-vehicle policy; I see research on manufactured homes and the impact of solar panels on real estate investment, among other topics.’’
Marketing Professor, Colleagues Find New Way to Enhance Social Media Influencer Messaging
UConn Today – UConn marketing professor Nicholas Lurie and two colleagues have found a little-known method for significantly enhancing social media influencer marketing.
In a recently published article in the Journal of Marketing, the researchers highlight how seeding the combination of a prominent influencer and a follower boosts the spread of an endorsement up to fivefold.
“Both researchers and marketers have traditionally believed that the key to social media messaging is to find the influencer with the largest social network,’’ Lurie says.
UConn Business Researchers Discover Voluntary Corporate Climate Goals Are Viewed Favorably by Investors
UConn Today – As companies face increasing pressure to address climate change, many are choosing to publicly announce voluntary carbon-elimination goals.
Two UConn researchers have discovered that, in addition to highlighting environmental responsibility, these commitments also influence how investors perceive the value of a company.
Marketing Association to Honor Professor Emerita Robin Coulter
UConn Today – rofessor Emerita Robin Coulter, who led the School’s Marketing Department for 17 years, will be recognized by the American Marketing Association this summer for the enduring impact of her research.
UConn, Three Other Partner Universities to Host International Conference on Real Estate and Sustainability in 2027
UConn Today – The Center for Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies is co-leading, co-organizing, and co-sponsoring a four-day symposium in Zurich, Switzerland, drawing international experts to address sustainability in the real estate industry.
The conference, titled “Global Real Estate and Sustainability: An International Conference on Emerging Challenges and Research Frontiers,’’ will be held at the University of Zurich in September 2027. Other academic partners include Yale University and The University of Oxford in England.
School of Business, CLAS, and College of Engineering Host MIP 2026 Research Conference at UConn Stamford
UConn Today – UConn Stamford recently hosted a four-day, invitation-only research conference on mixed-integer programming, a major area of mathematical optimization, known as MIP 2026.
The workshop brought leading academic researchers together with representatives from some of the world’s top technology and analytics companies to discuss new theoretical advances, computational methods, and real-world applications of optimization.
Commencement Speaker Toni Boucher: Resilience, Enthusiasm, Determination Key to Thriving in Unpredictable Times
UConn Today – Antonietta ‘Toni’ Boucher, the First Selectman of Wilton, a former corporate executive, and a 22-year leader in the Connecticut legislature, looked at the sea of soon-to-be graduates on Saturday, and smiled with tremendous pride.
UConn Establishes Endowed Accounting Professorship with KPMG
UConn Today – The School of Business has announced the creation of a new endowed accounting professorship, supported through a collaboration with KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax, and advisory firm, to help attract and retain high-performing educators in UConn’s Accounting Department.