Faculty excellence

With the start of a new academic year, UNC Kenan-Flagler celebrates top global rankings of its research productivity and welcomes eight talented professors who have joined the School.

UNC Kenan-Flagler is ranked in the top 10 in two global rankings of research productivity in top journals:

• No. 10 globally and No. 9 in North America in the UT Dallas Top 100 Business School Research Rankings™

• No. 6 globally by the Financial Times

UNC Kenan-Flagler faculty are known for excellence in teaching and rigorous research that makes an impact on the practice of business. The newest members of our community include:

• Finance professor Jesse Davis, who researches capital structure, information economics and liquidity. His work focuses on the dynamics of an entrepreneur’s decisions regarding the types of securities issued to finance the firm.

• Strategy and entrepreneurship professor Isin Guler Aran, who examines issues related to innovation, venture capital and firm growth. She is one of the few researchers that has examined why venture capitalists terminate investments in portfolio firms.

• Accounting professor Jeff Hoopes, who studies how taxpayers respond to tax laws and changes in enforcement. He examines issues at the intersection of accounting, public economics and finance. He has expertise in both corporate and individual taxation and tax administration and compliance.

• Operations professor Sandeep Rath, who focuses on healthcare operations. He designs practical and implementable solutions which bring operational and clinical data together to aid hospital managers in their resource planning decisions. The Veterans Health Administration and the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center use his research models, which have led to efficiencies saving millions of dollars annually.

• Strategy and entrepreneurship professor Michelle Rogan, who conducts corporate entrepreneurship research. She examines acquisitions of social capital in the ad industry and how ownership rights to inter-organizational relationships affect new business development in established firms in the consulting industry.

• Finance professor Gill Segal, who focuses on the link between asset prices and macroeconomics. He studies the pivotal role that fluctuations in volatility and belief uncertainty play in explaining aggregate asset prices, cross-sectional return behavior and business cycle fluctuations.

• Accounting instructor Christina Synn, who examines the connections of corporate accounting disclosures and the macro-economy. She investigates whether better financial reporting by firms can affect the terms by which they can raise capital.

• Finance instructor Xinxin Wang, who works in the areas of entrepreneurship, innovation, venture capital, corporate finance and industrial organization. She studies the relationship between financial markets and real economic output in terms of entrepreneurship, innovation and development.