Aug. 2, 2018
Starting the Fall 2018 semester, DH Zhang will be serving as the chair of the Darla Moore School of Business’ Department of Finance, and Sherry Thatcher will become chair of the Department of Management. Zhang joined the Moore School back in August 2002, and Thatcher has been here since 2012. Here are a few things to know about their academic interests and goals for their respective departments.
What are your areas of interest or research in this field?
DH Zhang: Securities issuance, especially initial public offerings (IPOs) and syndicated loans, and financial institutions. I have published research on these topics in top finance journals such as the Journal of Financial Economics and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis. I also have some interesting working papers on syndicated loans and Chinese IPOs.
Sherry Thatcher: I am a professor of management, specifically organizational behavior. I am most interested
in the topics of identity, diversity and conflict in small groups and teams.
Why do you think that’s important today?
DH Zhang: Financial institutions play a vital role in our economy. IPOs in particular have been an important platform for the most innovative part of our economy. As for syndicated loans, this type of securities has been an important source of financing for all major U.S. companies and is an interesting hybrid type of securities of traditional bank loans and corporate bonds. It is useful, both academically and practically, if we can understand the issues concerning IPOs and syndicated loans.
Sherry Thatcher: Having grown up in Hawaii where there is a lot of ethnic diversity, I have personally
had very positive and very negative experiences with diversity. I have always wanted
to understand what caused the negative experiences and to transform them into positive
experiences. I believe that diversity across any dimension is wonderful and should
be celebrated. I believe that this issue is especially relevant in today’s world given
the way that individuals receive and process information.
What do you hope to accomplish in this new role?
DH Zhang: The Department of Finance has achieved a lot during recent years. The department is not only offering high quality education to undergraduate, master’s and doctoral students, but it is also recognized as a vibrant research group. With the continued support from Dean Brews and Senior Associate Dean McDermott, I hope we can continue to improve our research productivity, to offer rigorous training in finance and to fulfill our service mission to our community.
Sherry Thatcher: My predecessors have created a wonderful department where individuals from a variety of personal and professional backgrounds are valued and their skills are appreciated. I hope to build on this foundation so that our department accomplishments increase both the brand of the Moore School and of our department.