Lubar College of Business

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Strategic Management
2025-02-14 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Chicago) | Webinar
AI and digital transformation have already transformed how we “live, work, and relate to one another” (Schwab, 2024:29), with changes expected to further accelerate in the future. On one hand these developments could facilitate evidence-based strategic management, boost innovation, and offer “society a vastly more efficient way to coordinate its activities” (Mayer-Schönberger & Ramge, 2018: 33). On the other hand, they could bring new uncertainties, such as “[w]hat’s left for firms when the traditional work of firms is either done through market transactions, or by robots and computers that do not require human intervention” (Birkinshaw, 2018: 196). Our distinguished panel will address the implications of AI for strategic management.
Nan Jia is Professor of Strategic Management at Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. She holds a PhD in Strategic Management from the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (Canada). Her research interests include corporate political strategy, business-governance relationships, and applications of Artificial Intelligence technologies in management. Her research has been published in multiple top journals, such as Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, Management Science, Academy of Management Review, and others. She currently serves as an associate editor for the Strategic Management Journal and on the editorial boards of multiple leading academic journals.
Alex Murray is Assistant Professor of Management at Lundquist College of Business, University of Oregon. His research addresses empirical and theoretical puzzles stemming from the technologically-driven phenomena of crowdfunding, blockchain-based firms, and decentralized autonomous organizations (DAOs). His research is published in Academy of Management Review, Organization Science, Academy of Management Annals, Business Horizons, and others. He received his PhD from University of Washington and previously served as senior researcher at ETH Zurich. He is recipient of multiple best papers, research, teaching, and reviewer awards, and serves on the editorial boards of Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal and AMR, and as guest editor of the special topic forum on “AI in Management” at Academy of Management Review.
Shaker Zahra is Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship and Robert E. Buuck Chair at Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota. His research studies entrepreneurship and new firm strategy in global technology and science industries, technology strategy by new firms vs. incumbents, role of digital technology, and emergence of new organizational forms in ecosystems. Widely published in leading academic journals, he is among the most highly cited in the field of management. He is Fellow of the Academy of Management and Academy of International Business, and Research Fellow of the Global Consortium of Entrepreneurship Centers and several other organizations. In recognition of his “creative and impactful contributions to entrepreneurship research,” Professor Zahra received the Academy of Management Entrepreneurship Division‘s award. He served as academic director of the Holmes Entrepreneurship Center and co-founding director of the university-wide Center for Integrative Leadership. He also held several chaired visiting international positions and has served in leadership positions on multiple editorial boards.
Registration Required
Sponsored by: M&I Center for Business Ethics

Corporate Boards in Challenging Times: Advisors, Supervisors, Gatekeepers?
2025-03-11 08:00 - 09:00 | Webinar
The Board of Directors – a cornerstone of corporate governance responsible for management oversight, executive compensation, succession planning, crisis management, and
organizational direction – faces unprecedented challenges today. These include intensifying shareholder activism, global political and economic upheaval, technological disruption, cybersecurity threats, artificial intelligence, and an overall “sense of predictable future slipping away” (Zuboff, 2019). According to the Spencer Stuart Global Board Survey (2024), over 75% of directors report heightened business uncertainty, while fewer than one-third of CEOs believe they have the right board composition to address their
organizations’ needs. Our distinguished panel will discuss three critical questions for contemporary board of directors: (1) balancing shareholder activism and short-term pressures against long-term value creation, (2) navigating the board’s supervisory role versus its strategic advisory and gatekeeping functions, and (3) addressing cybersecurity challenges and AI implications for board governance.
Christina Ahmadjian has served as a non-executive director at major Japanese companies, including Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Japan Exchange Group (parent company of the Tokyo Stock Exchange), Asahi Group Holdings (parent company of Asahi Beer), and NEC. She advises Japanese companies and government on DEI, corporate governance, and innovation. Christina Ahmadjian is a professor at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. Her research interests include comparative corporate governance, interorganizational networks and business groups, the effect of global capital markets on local management practices, and the changing face of the Japanese firm. She received her BA from Harvard University, MBA from Stanford Business School, and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley. Her publications have appeared in journals including Administrative Science Quarterly, American Sociological Review, Organization Science, and the Journal of Law, Economics, and Organization.
William Foote is retired chairman and CEO of USG Corporation, which he led from 1996 to 2011. He also served as a member of the board of Walgreens, Kohler, and a trustee of Williams College. He began his career at USG as vice president of strategic planning and served in a variety of increasingly responsible operating roles culminating in being named CEO in 1996. Prior to joining USG, he was a senior engagement manager at McKinsey & Company in Chicago and assistant treasurer at Chase Manhattan Bank in New York. Mr. Foote is a member of The Business Council and The Greater Milwaukee Committee. Foote is former chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, a life trustee of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and a former trustee of the Museum of Science and Industry. He graduated cum laude from Williams College and holds a master’s degree from Harvard Business School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and was a member of the Century Club at Harvard.
Nurit Nahum holds a Ph.D. in Strategy studies, from Tel Aviv University, Coller School of Management, as well as having graduated from Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program. She is also an affiliated researcher at MMTC, Jonkoping University, Sweden. Her research interests are strategic decisions, the long-term growth and prosperity of firms and corporate governance. Nurit serves as the chairperson of LOG Pharma Packaging, and as a board member in various publicly traded firms, and teaches strategic management at the MBA program, TA university. Nurit is the former CEO of Ronin Investments, a privately owned investment company, VP of Economic and Business Development at Packer Plada Ltd., the CEO of the Business Consulting Unit at PWC Israel, and has held other leadership roles in industrial and technology companies.
Registration Required
Sponsored by: M&I Center for Business Ethics

Bradley Lecture Series
2025-04-02 12:00 - 13:30 | Wisconsin Club, 900 W. Wisconsin Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53233
Debt, Deficits, and Sustainability: The US Fiscal Challenge
James Poterba, Mitsui Professor of Economics at MIT and President of the National Bureau of Economic Research
Federal debt as a share of GDP has increased from about 35% to 95% in the last two decades, with the largest increases occurring during the Global Financial Crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal budget deficit was 6.4% of GDP in 2024, and it is projected to grow as the US population ages and a larger share of the population draws Social Security benefits and qualifies for Medicare and Medicaid. What are the economic effects of high and rising deficits, and the debt they create? What are the implications of extending all or most of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the debt trajectory? Is current fiscal policy on a sustainable path, and if it isn’t, what sort of policy actions, including entitlement program reforms and revenue raisers including tariffs and tax changes, could get it there?
About the Speaker

James Poterba is the Mitsui Professor of Economics at MIT and the President of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a non-profit research organization with nearly 1,600 affiliated economists. Dr. Poterba is a trustee of the College Retirement Equity Fund (CREF), the TIAA-CREF mutual funds, and of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. Dr. Poterba served as a member of the President’s Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform in 2005.
Dr. Poterba holds an undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a D. Phil. in Economics from Oxford University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. He has been an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow, a Batterymarch Fellow, a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences, and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. In 2014 he received the Daniel M. Holland Medal from the National Tax Association for the study and practice of public finance.
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kennedy Wiegel for more information.
Sponsored by UWM’s Lubar College of Business and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

Racial Diversity and Inclusion Without Equity? Evidence from Executive Compensation
2025-04-04 10:30 - 12:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Felipe Cabezon, Virginia Tech
The structure of managerial compensation, excluding CEOs, varies by ethnicity and race. Black, Hispanic, and Asian C-suite executives receive less equity-based pay than their White counterparts. As minority executives’ tenure increases or they move to firms with minority CEOs or firms near recent Black Lives Matter events, pay structure similarity improves. When this similarity increases, the pay gap between White and minority executives tightens, firm performance improves, financial fraud declines, and the CEO-to-median-worker pay ratio narrows. Race-based pay disparities are influenced by both minority executives’ preferences and corporate cultures where the idiosyncratic backgrounds of different executives take time to coalesce.

Are Audit Disclosures Informative about Foreign Earnings?
2025-04-11 10:30 - 12:00 | Lubar Hall, N333, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Jenna J. Burke, University of Colorado – Denver
We examine whether audit disclosures regarding changes in foreign component auditor use are informative about the persistence of foreign earnings. Component auditor use is required to increase when, amongst other factors, the financial significance of a specific location increases. Therefore, changes in component auditor use could reveal information about the materiality and sustainability of foreign operations. Consistent with this, we find changes in component auditor use are associated with foreign earnings persistence, even after controlling for other foreign information sources such as geographic segments, foreign sales, and subsidiaries. We also find a significant market reaction to changes in the use of large component auditors, which suggests an unintended benefit of Form AP in line with the PCAOB’s objective to provide information.

Designing Renewable Power Purchase Agreements: Impact on Green Energy Investment
2025-04-11 10:30 - 12:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Professor Zuguang Gao, University of California – Irvine

This paper studies a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) between a firm and a new renewable energy generator. At each time, the firm must meet an uncertain electricity demand in excess of its existing energy sources. The wholesale electricity market price evolves as a stochastic process. When the firm signs a PPA, a new renewable energy facility becomes operational, and the firm owns the facility’s output during the contract. The new facility’s capacity is determined based on PPA terms. The firm dynamically decides when to start a renewable PPA and total payment to the renewable energy generator to maximize its expected total discounted benefit. We show that the firm’s optimal time-to-sign a PPA is determined by a (time- varying) threshold policy. Our analysis offers key insights to policymakers and renewable energy developers. We find that, in contrast to the common understanding, increasing investment cost for renewable technology can boost renewable energy capacity and output when renewable energy facilities are developed under a PPA. This calls for caution in implementing investment tax credit for clean technologies under PPAs. We show that total renewable energy generation can decrease with site productivity. Hence, restricting renewable facility development to the most productive sites might be counterproductive under PPAs.
Zoom meeting link
Meeting ID: 926 5434 0716
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Retention Costs or Human Capital Investments: A Dual Perspective on Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits?
2025-04-18 10:30 - 12:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Xuelin Li, Columbia University

Employer-sponsored health insurance is the predominant coverage source for the U.S. workforce, yet the rationale behind firms’ provision of these benefits remains debated. We examine two primary motivations: as a retention mechanism reducing employee turnover, and as a human capital investment enhancing workforce productivity. To disentangle these perspectives, we exploit policy-induced shocks to labor mobility and track firms’ benefit adjustments. We employ a stacked difference-in-differences approach using novel datasets on health plan details, individual healthcare utilization, and state-level variations in non-compete agreement (NCA) enforceability from 2013 to 2020. Our results show that increased NCA enforceability leads firms to lower premiums primarily by shifting to High-Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs). This shift, in turn, boosts HDHP enrollment rates and significantly reshapes healthcare utilization among affected employees, leading to fewer preventive care visits but a greater incidence of severe, high-cost medical procedures. Overall, our findings support the retention cost perspective while also highlighting the unintended long-term consequences of such cost-saving strategies

Business Ethics Awards Luncheon with Curt Culver - The Culver Story: A Lesson in Leadership
2025-04-23 12:00 - 13:30 | UWM Zelazo Center, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Featuring: Curt S. Culver, Non-Executive Chairman, MGIC Investment Corporation
Curt S. Culver, a director since 1999, is Non-Executive Chairman of MGIC Investment Corporation. Mr. Culver’s career includes 49 years in the private mortgage insurance industry, with 43 years at MGIC. Mr. Culver joined MGIC in 1982, was named President and Chief Operating Officer in 1996, and on January 1, 2000 became Chief Executive Officer of MGIC Investment Corporation. He added the title of Chairman in 2005. Upon his retirement in 2015, he became Non-Executive Chairman. Besides serving on the Board of MGIC, he also serves on the Boards of Wisconsin Energy Group, Inc. and Culver’s Franchising Systems.
Lunch will be provided.
Sponsored by: M&I Center for Business Ethics
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kennedy Wiegel for more information.

Undergraduate Business Information Session
2025-05-08 13:00 - 13:45, 2025-05-14 11:30 - 12:15, 2025-05-15 13:00 - 13:45, 2026-07-23 11:30 - 12:30 | Lubar Hall, N297 – Undergraduate Student Services
Learn more about what makes the Lubar Experience so unique from our Lubar Ambassador team of current business students. They look forward to guiding you through a tour of Lubar Hall while answering questions and connecting you to important resources for our students. You’ll have the opportunity to discuss academic business programs and learn about opportunities for peer mentoring, internships, study abroad, and more!
As you prepare for your visit, you can find general information about our programs of study here.
Lubar Hall is directly across the street from the UWM Welcome Center/Lubar Entrepreneurship Center.
Your academic information session with the Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business will be held at:
UWM Sheldon B. Lubar College of Business (Lubar Hall)
Undergraduate Student Services (2nd Floor- N297)
3202 N Maryland Ave
Milwaukee, WI 53211-3164
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Lubar College Annual Alumni Meeting
2025-05-20 16:30 - 18:30 | Lubar Hall, 2nd Floor
Join Dean Kaushal Chari, along with faculty, staff, recent graduates and fellow Lubar College of Business alumni, for an engaging evening of networking, conversation and college updates. The event will kick off with a welcome and program updates from Chad Venne ’05, director of the Real Estate Certificate Program, followed by guided tours of student support spaces. Enjoy refreshments and networking as Dean Chari shares the latest news and vision for the program.
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Annual AI & Analytics Online Symposium - Mind Meets Machines: Insight and Artificial Intelligence Converge
2025-05-30 09:00 - 12:45 | Webinar
At the heart of the Center for Technology Innovation’s AI and Analytics Symposium is a fundamental shift: as these technologies become integral to decision-making across industries, the question is no longer if we’ll collaborate with machines—but how. This event explores that evolving collaboration: how data, algorithms, and human judgment come together to drive innovation, shape policy, and influence business strategy. Through keynote talks, cutting-edge research, and a thought-provoking industry panel, we’ll examine the practical realities, challenges, and opportunities of working at the intersection of human and machine intelligence.
INDUSTRY KEYNOTE
Agentic AI and IT’s Use Cases
9:00am – 9:55am, followed by a 5 minute break
Balamurugan Balakreshnan
Chief Architect WMW Microsoft

Microsoft Agentic AI represents a transformative approach to artificial intelligence, integrating autonomous agents with human ambition to drive business innovation and productivity. These AI-powered agents, such as Microsoft 365 Copilot, Azure AI Foundry Agents, are designed to automate routine tasks, enhance decision-making, and streamline workflows across various industries.

ACADEMIC KEYNOTE
Incentivizing The Content Creator When Tasks Can Be Delegated to Artificial Intelligence
10:00am – 10:50am, followed by a 10 minute break
DJ Wu
Ernest Scheller Jr. Chair in Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Commercialization, Georgia Tech

We develop a game-theoretic model to examine how platforms should adjust revenue-sharing to incentivize human creators in the presence of AI tools. We show that while AI can aid content creation, excessively strong AI may cause creators to shirk effort, ultimately harming the platform and reducing social welfare.

RESEARCH INSIGHTS
Take Caution in Using LLMs as Human Surrogates: Scylla Ex Machina
11:00am – 11:50am, followed by a 10 minute break
Dokyun Lee
Kelli Questrom Associate Professor in Information Systems, Boston University
Recent studies suggest large language models (LLMs) can exhibit human-like reasoning, aligning with human behavior in economic experiments, surveys, and political discourse. This has led many to propose that LLMs can be used as surrogates or simulations for humans in social science research. However, LLMs differ fundamentally from humans, relying on probabilistic patterns, absent the embodied experiences or survival objectives that shape human cognition. We assess the reasoning depth of LLMs using the 11-20 money request game. Nearly all advanced approaches fail to replicate human behavior distributions across many models. Causes of failure are diverse and unpredictable, relating to input language, roles, and safeguarding. These results advise caution when using LLMs to study human behavior or as surrogates or simulations.

REALITY CHECK: WHERE AI MEETS BUSINESS
12:00pm – 12:45pm
Sandeep Gangarapu, Senior Applied Scientist, Apple
Timothy Johnson, Demand Planning Manager, Charter Steel
Waqar Hasan, CEO, InComm Benefits
Moderator: Scott Schanke, Director, Center for Technology Innovation & Assistant Professor, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Registration Required

Bradley Distinguished Lecture Series
2025-06-11 12:00 - 13:30 | Discovery World, 500 N. Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Inflation
John H. Cochrane, Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University
Where did the 2021-2022 surge of inflation come from? How can we avoid a repeat? What lessons does the inflation surge have for today’s policies? How will tariffs affect the economy, with a special eye on inflation? How should the Fed respond? What dangers lie ahead resulting from huge debt and deficits? What will happen in the next crisis or recession – which may come sooner than you think. How much control does the Fed have over the economy? Dr.Cochrane will address these and related questions.
About the Speaker

John H. Cochrane is the Rose-Marie and Jack Anderson Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Dr. Cochrane is also a Senior Fellow of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), Professor of Finance and Economics (by Courtesy) at Stanford GSB, a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, and an Adjunct Scholar of the CATO Institute. Before coming to Hoover, Cochrane was the AQR Capital Management Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Dr. Cochrane is a past President and Fellow of the American Finance Association, and a Fellow of the Econometric Society. He has been an Editor of the Journal of Political Economy, and associate editor of several other journals. He is the recipient of several prestigious awards, including: the Bradley Prize, the APEE Adam Smith award, the TIAA-CREF Institute Paul A. Samuelson Award for his book Asset Pricing, and the Chookaszian Endowed Risk Management Prize.
His monetary economics publications include the book The Fiscal Theory of the Price Level and articles on monetary policy and inflation. His finance publications include the book Asset Pricing and numerous articles on dynamics in stock and bond markets, the volatility of exchange rates, the term structure of interest rates, and other topics. He writes occasional Op-eds, mostly in the Wall Street Journal, and blogs as “the Grumpy Economist” at grumpy-economist.com.
Dr. Cochrane earned a Bachelor’s degree in Physics at MIT, and earned his Ph.D. in Economics at the University of California at Berkeley.
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kennedy Wiegel for more information.
Sponsored by UWM’s Lubar College of Business and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

Graduate Programs Online Information Session
2025-06-19 16:30 - 17:30, 2025-07-01 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-10 17:00 - 18:00, 2025-07-17 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-07-29 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-07 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-14 16:00 - 17:00, 2025-08-19 16:00 - 17:00 and 43 more dates | Webinar
The Lubar College of Business welcomes you to join us for an online Information Session to learn more about our MBA, MS, and EMBA programs. This will be a broad overview to help you determine the educational program that may be right for you. After the program information and application process is presented, a Q& A will be available to have your questions answered.
*Please note the time is Central Time Zone.
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Panther Transition Experience Academic Welcome: Info Session for New Transfer Business Students
2025-08-29 10:30 - 11:30 | Lubar Hall, S151
Join us for an academic welcome session designed for new business transfer students! Learn about Lubar College of Business academic programs, student services, and resources to help you thrive. Hear insights from academic and career advisors , as well as a fellow new transfer student. Start your journey prepared, build connections, and get any questions answered before classes begin on Tuesday. All attendees will receive a Lubar water bottle and an exclusive New Transfer Student Roadmap!

Biz Connect Social - Lubar Undergraduate Academic Welcome
2025-08-29 13:00 - 14:00 | Pangaea Mall – outdoor green space to the east/behind Lubar Hall, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53211
BizConnect is your official welcome to the Lubar College of Business. This social hour will have opportunities for incoming first-year and transfer students to meet Dean Kaushal Chari, engage with our business student organizations leaders, faculty, and staff. Stop by for a sweet treat, networking, surprise giveaways, and a free Lubar t-shirt!

Meet, Greet, and Eat
2025-09-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Lubar Hall, 2nd Floor
Moriarity Student Lounge
Lubar undergraduate students! Kick off the semester with a warm welcome from the College of Business! Enjoy free subs while connecting with faculty, staff, and connect with new and returning business students!

No Margins, No Mission: The Effects of Immigration on the Hospital Sector
2025-09-18 14:00 - 15:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Giorgo Sertsios, University Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Nonprofit organizations dominate the U.S. hospital sector, yet their objectives and constraints are not well understood. We shed light on these issues by studying how hospitals adjust their investment and financing decisions in response to immigration. Instrumenting for immigration inflows using historical enclaves of foreign-born nationalities, we find that a 1% increase in immigration (relative to the county’s initial population) leads to a 2.17% decline in hospital bed capacity over ten years. The effect is primarily driven by nonprofit hospitals, which are more likely to exit through closures or acquisitions. Continuing nonprofit hospitals experience a significant decline in their profit margins due to increased expenditure on uncompensated care. To cover the financial shortfalls, nonprofits curtail fixed-asset investments but do not raise additional funds. Our findings suggest that nonprofit hospitals operate under tight financing and operating constraints, underscoring a strong link between nonprofits’ ability to generate profits and their capacity to pursue “mission-driven” objectives.

Bradley Distinguished Lecture Series
2025-09-24 12:00 - 13:30 | Discovery World, 500 N. Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Mortgage Finance Policy, Monetary Policy and Financial Crises
Douglas W. Diamond, 2022 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences and Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, University of Chicago – Booth School of Business
United States government policies have had a large influence on the types of available home mortgages since 1932. Those policies and many subsequent policy changes have been in response to financial crises. However, a large fraction of subsequent financial crises have been related to problems with mortgage finance. Examples of such crises include the US Savings and Loan crisis of1980s and 1990s, the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-2008 and the Silicon Valley Bank run of 2023.
This lecture will review the history of government policy toward mortgages, focusing on the changes in policies adopted after subsequent crises. In addition to changes in mortgage policies, bank regulation and the rules for federal deposit insurance changed after each crisis. Some of these policy changes were flawed and sowed the seeds for a subsequent crisis.
In addition to housing finance policy, previous monetary policy appears to have been an important trigger for many of these financial crises. Professor Diamond will describe his views on the nature of the monetary policy mistakes, especially those in the last decade. He will describe improvements that are needed in monetary policy implementation, financial supervision and financial regulation.
About the Speaker

Douglas W. Diamond is the 2022 recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his groundbreaking research on banks and financial crises. He specializes in the study of financial intermediaries, financial crises, and liquidity. Diamond is the Merton H. Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.
Dr. Diamond is a research associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, is a fellow of the American Finance Association and was president of the American Finance Association. He received the Onassis Prize in Finance in 2018, the CME Group- Mathematical Sciences Research Institute Prize in Innovative Quantitative Applications in 2016 and the Morgan Stanley-American Finance Association Award for Excellence in Finance in 2012.
Dr. Diamond has taught at Yale and was a visiting professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology as well as the University of Bonn. Diamond earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Brown University in 1975. He earned master’s degrees in 1976 and 1977 and a PhD in 1980 in economics from Yale University.
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kennedy Wiegel for more information.
Lunch will be provided.
Sponsored by UWM’s Lubar College of Business and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

What is the Risk-Premium for the SDF?
2025-10-10 14:00 - 15:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: John Huck, University Wisconsin – Milwaukee

We develop a model that identifies a time-varying risk-premium for a latent stochastic discount factor (SDF) with minimal assumptions. The SDF risk-premium can be identified in two ways: (1) as a function of the weighted average variance risk-premium (VRP) for individual stocks and the VRP for the market, and (2) as a function of the cross-sectional weighted variance of expected stock returns. We construct empirical proxies for the SDF risk-premium, and show that they can price the cross-section of stock returns. Specifically, investors pay a premium for assets that have higher betas to the SDF risk-premium factors.

Demystifying the CPA Exam Process
2025-10-15 16:00 - 17:00 | Lubar Hall, S241, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
This informative session is designed to reduce confusion and anxiety surrounding the CPA Exam process. Students will gain clarity on key steps, timelines, and requirements for becoming a CPA.
Who Should Attend:
Accounting seniors and graduate students planning to START the CPA Exam process within the next four months.
Questions? Contact Dr. Veena Brown, brownvml@uwm.edu or Randy Severson, seversor@uwm.edu
Registration Required

Lubar College of Business Majors, Certificates, and Student Organizations Fair
2025-10-17 11:00 - 13:00 | Lubar Hall, 1st Floor
Learn about the variety of business majors, certificates, and student organization opportunities at the Lubar College of Business.
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MSPA Information Session – Part 1- MSPA Life Path
2025-10-22 16:00 - 17:00 | Lubar Hall, S241, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
This event covers
• An overview of the new Uniform CPA exam which launched in January 2024.
• How our program prepares you for every section of the exam before graduation.
• Step-by-step course mapping showing how classes align with each exam section.
• Testimonials from successful current and past students.
Who Should Attend:
Accounting BBA juniors & seniors who plan to take the CPA Exam and wish to learn about the MSPA program.
Questions? Contact Dr. Veena Brown, brownvml@uwm.edu
Registration Required

UWM Preview Day
2025-10-24 09:30 - 16:30, 2025-11-07 09:30 - 16:30 | Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, 2100 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, 53201
Preview what’s possible by going beyond the brochure. Whether you’re curious about research, hands-on learning, or the spaces where big ideas come to life, you’ll shape the day around what matters to you.

Explore UWM academic majors and resources throughout the day
A behind-the-scenes look at labs, studios, and classrooms
Lubar College of Business Resource Fair – Network with faculty and current students

Register Now!

Temporary Loosening of Impossible Ideals: Deconstructed Boundaries and Norm Restructuring Around Work-Family Infrastructure Shock
2025-10-24 10:30 - 11:30 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Keimei Sugiyama, University Wisconsin – Milwaukee

This study examines how working parents navigate the dismantling of work-family infrastructure during extreme circumstances, drawing on interviews with 76 working parents (including 18 couples) during the prevalence of remote work in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. We introduce the concept of work-family infrastructure shock (WFI shock) to explain what happens when the scaffolding that supports work-family management suddenly collapses. Our findings reveal that WFI shock creates a liminal experience in which working parents temporarily question and restructure deeply embedded work and family norms. This liminal period enables a shift from individual to more social approaches in boundary work, as working parents engage in co-constructing boundaries with others. Additionally, the loosening of ideal worker and parent norms allows working parents to experience temporary freedom from impossible standards. While some working parents retreat to the status quo due to fear and perceived risks, others leverage this period to reframe their work-family management through increased appreciation of others and enhanced resilience. Our study contributes to work-family literature by revealing how shock events can create opportunities to challenge traditional work-family ideals and demonstrates the importance of reconceptualizing work-family supports as critical infrastructure rather than optional benefits.

MSPA Information Session – Part 2 TA, Financial Opportunities, & Study Abroad
2025-10-29 16:00 - 17:00 | Lubar Hall, S241, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
This event covers:
• Financial support opportunities for Teaching Assistants (TAs), with testimonials from current TAs
• An overview of the 2025 EY Study Abroad program, including EY-sponsored funding
• Additional resources to help finance your graduate degree at UWM, plus guidance on how to apply
Who Should Attend:
Accounting BBA juniors & seniors planning to take the CPA Exam &/or attend graduate school.
Questions? Contact Dr. Veena Brown, brownvml@uwm.edu
Registration Required

Accelerated Graduate Degree (AGD) Information Session
2025-11-03 16:00 - 17:00 | Lubar Hall, S263, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Join us online or in-person to learn more about the accelerated graduate degree (AGD). We will discuss how it works, why it’s a good idea, what the requirements are, and how a graduate degree can set you up for career success.
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Contemporary Ownership: Promises and Challenges Webinar
2025-11-07 10:00 - 11:00 | Webinar
During the last four decades, corporate governance regulations sought to enhance corporate accountability by empowering shareholders and aligning the interests of corporate executives to those of corporate shareholders. The number of US publicly traded corporations, however, has shrunk by half since its 1996 peak, while the number of firms backed by private equity increased nearly six-fold, paving the way for recent initiatives to ‘democratize access to alternative assets.’ While these developments may be unsurprising in the face of a $130T global asset management industry, they raise the question whether investors’ interests can be protected if the underlying resilience and well-being of American companies is ignored, and organizational interests are reduced to the dynamically changing interests of their investors.
The distinguished panel will address three key points: (i) pivotal regulatory changes with respect to contemporary ownership, (ii) shareholder empowerment in the context of heterogenous investor interests and concentration of diversified asset managers, and (iii) systemic consequences for American companies, investment fund beneficiaries, and stakeholders.
Leo E. Strine, Jr., is Of Counsel in the Corporate Department at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and serves as the Michael L. Wachter Distinguished Fellow in Law and Policy at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School and a Senior Fellow of the Harvard Program on Corporate Governance. Prior to joining the firm, he was the Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court from early 2014 through late 2019. Before becoming the Chief Justice, he served on the Delaware Court of Chancery as Chancellor since June 22, 2011, and as a Vice Chancellor since November 9, 1998.
Keith Johnson is CEO of Global Investor Collaboration Services, a consulting firm that provides governance and educational services to institutional investors on a global basis. He previously co-headed the Institutional Investor Legal Services Group at Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren, where he was selected by national peers to be included in Best Lawyers in America for corporate governance expertise. Prior to Reinhart, he served as Chief Legal Officer for the State of Wisconsin Investment Board and President of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA). Keith also co-edited the Cambridge University Handbook of Institutional Investment and Fiduciary Duty and taught corporate governance as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
Jessica Wirth Strine is managing partner and CEO at Jasper Street, which she co-founded in 2020 following nearly twenty years in investment management. Jessica advises clients on shareholder engagement, corporate governance practices, and contentious proxy voting matters including activism. Prior to founding Jasper Street, Jessica served as a senior director on the Investment Stewardship team at Vanguard where she oversaw proxy voting and led engagement with directors and executives at public companies across the U.S. and led the firm’s interdisciplinary ESG working group. Prior to Vanguard, Jessica worked in active equity portfolio management at BlackRock where she served as a director of research and an energy sector portfolio manager; at Putnam Investments where she managed natural resources sector funds and directed energy investments across the firm’s global, international and U.S. funds; and at Wellington Management Company where she conducted equity research across the consumer and telecommunications sectors. Jessica holds a BA from Dartmouth College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She lives in Philadelphia with her husband and five children and serves on the board of directors of T1 Energy (NYSE: TE).
Nick Zuiker is a shareholder with Reinhart’s Institutional Investor Services (RIIS) Team, where he represents institutional investors all aspects of the legal and economic issues related to institutional investors, including fiduciary responsibilities, plan governance, litigation and tax legal services, including development of investment beliefs and investment policy statements and establishment of policies and programs concerning corporate engagement and exercise of shareholder rights intended to reduce investor risk and increase long-term returns. Nick also represents institutional investors in negotiating favorable terms of investments in private equity funds and other alternative investment vehicles. Nick currently serves on the Markets Advisory Council for the Council of Institutional Investors (CII), as Secretariat for the Global Institutional Governance Network, a forum of approximately 22 global institutional investors that meets periodically to discuss investor concerns and ESG issues, and as a member of the National Association of Public Pension Attorneys (NAPPA) Investments Committee.
Sponsored by: M&I Center for Business Ethics
Registration Required

Webinar: Regulatory Enforcement Spillovers and Common Ownership: Evidence from AAER-Linked Firms
2025-11-14 10:30 - 12:00 | Webinar
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Andy Imdieke, University of Notre Dame

This study examines whether regulatory enforcement actions against one firm influence financial reporting quality of other firms that share significant institutional blockholders. Using a sample of Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs), we find evidence consistent with incremental within industry deterrence spillovers for commonly held peers. That is, we find that firms that share both the industry and a blockholder with the AAER release firm experience fewer restatements and missed material weaknesses following the AAER release compared to firms that share the industry but do not share a blockholder. These findings suggest that enforcement effects extend beyond sanctioned firms to commonly held peers. In additional analysis, we find evidence that commonly held peer firms are more likely to change auditors after the AAER release. Our results highlight a portfolio-level dimension of regulatory enforcement, demonstrating that ownership concentration can amplify enforcement effectiveness which is suggestive of a previously unknown benefit of common institutional ownership.

Brewing Success: CEO Insights with Sprecher
2025-11-18 16:15 - 17:15 | Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, 2100 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, 53201
Presented in partnership with the UWM Research Foundation, and UWM student groups Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) and Minority Women in Entrepreneurship (MWE).
Since taking the helm in 2020, Sharad has led Sprecher through rapid growth, expanding its distribution to all 50 states and diversifying its portfolio through strategic acquisitions. Students will lead the Q&A, so bring your curiosity and your questions. Registration required to attend.
About the Speaker
Sharad Chadha is an accomplished leader with a proven track record of driving remarkable growth and transformation. As the dynamic CEO, President, and primary owner of Sprecher Brewing Company, Sharad has steered the company’s course since assuming leadership in January 2020. Under his visionary stewardship, Sprecher has achieved unprecedented milestones, solidifying it’s position in the industry.
Sharad’s tenure at the helm of Sprecher has been nothing short of extraordinary. In just a few years, he has overseen a remarkable tripling of the company’s sales, expanding its footprint to all 50 states with a remarkable 400% increase in distribution. This remarkable growth has been powered by his strategic acumen and unwavering commitment to excellence.
In addition to driving substantial top-line growth, Sharad has fostered a thriving work environment, exemplified by the expansion of Sprecher’s workforce from 50 employees to 160. His commitment to operational excellence is further demonstrated by the expansion of the bottling line, introduction of a can production line, and the expansion of an additional 215,000 square feet of warehouse space in Wisconsin. These investments have positioned Sprecher for sustained success in a competitive market.
Sharad’s leadership and strategy for Sprecher growth is based on vertical integration and M&A Roll UP. Sprecher’s platform for growth includes mergers and acquisitions. They have acquired several beverage companies, Craft soda: Green River, Black bear, WBC, Olde Brooklyn. Lemonade: Oh La Lemin, Variety packaging Excent, recently in the energy beverage space with the acquisition of Juvee. This diversifies and completes Sprecher’s portfolio in the craft beverage space which includes Craft Beer, Hard Seltzers, Ciders, RTD cocktails and more.
Sharad’s extensive experience spans over two decades, encompassing P&L management and value creation across both global corporations and startups. Recently with a tenure as VP for Samsung Consumer Electronics, USA.
His journey through senior executive roles in esteemed organizations such as GE Healthcare, Electrolux, ABB, and successful startups underscores his exceptional leadership capabilities. Sharad’s expertise extends to mergers, acquisitions, and global business transformation and integration, with a track record of orchestrating successful outcomes.
Rooted in a family legacy of craft beverage production and distribution, Sharad’s passion for the industry is deeply personal. Inspired by his great-grandfather’s legacy of bottling and distributing natural soda in pre-independence British India, he has always aspired to lead his own beverage company.
His impact is quantifiable, having delivered over $300 million in margin expansion to the bottom line in just a year, consistently exceeding targets. Sharad’s unwavering commitment to excellence sets a high bar for himself and his teams, firmly believing that “the sky is the limit.”
Beyond the boardroom, Sharad has shared his insights as a keynote and commencement speaker at various conferences and educational institutions. He has also contributed to the community, serving as President of the International Developing Country Aid Organization and actively engaging in philanthropic endeavors for the less advantaged.
Sharad’s educational background includes a one-year Executive Management Program from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL. He also holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from the University of Pune, India.
Outside of his professional pursuits, Sharad is a curious and avid reader with a keen interest in behavioral economics, religion, and politics. He maintains a healthy lifestyle through exercise and watersports and treasures quality time spent with his wife, son, and their two poodles. They call Shorewood, WI, their home. Sharad Chadha is not just a leader; he is a catalyst for transformation and growth in every endeavor he undertakes. He and the Sprecher team will not rest until every lip has a Sprecher Sip!

Webinar: Government Policy: Fiscal and Monetary Policy
2025-11-20 12:00 - 13:10
Featuring: Dr. Kevin G. Spellman, CFA (aka “Coach”), Professor of Practice, David O. Nicholas Director of Investment Management, Lubar College of Business. Also featuring
Guest Economists and Strategists.
Did you know that the total debt to GDP right now is nearly as high as it was just before the peak of the financial bubble? We replaced consumer and bank debt with government and non-bank corporate debt. You’ll also learn how Fed Chairman Powell went back to school to learn economics 101 in 2021-2 as inflation skyrocketed, and much more.
Registration Required

Interfirm Collaboration, Ownership Stakes, and Incomplete Contracts: Evidence from the Pharmaceutical Industry
2025-11-21 14:00 - 15:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Yianni Floros, Lubar College of Business, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

If contracts are incomplete, ownership stakes between collaborating firms can help align incentives and mitigate the costs of potential future conflicts. Using the unique institutional setting of the pharmaceutical industry, we construct hypotheses that relate the complexity of the contracting environment to the use of equity stakes. Using a sample of collaborations between pharmaceutical firms and detailed drug (project) and firm-level data, we find overwhelming support for our hypothesis. We construct precise drug level measures of competition and find equity stakes are more likely when competition is greater. We explore the contract features of the equity stake agreements and find frequent use of control terms. Last, we document that stock market reactions to the announcements of contracts with equity average 8% compared to 3% for those without equity.

EY - Germany Study Abroad
2025-12-03 16:15 - 17:00 | Lubar Hall, S241, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
This event covers:

An in-depth overview of the 2026 EY Study Abroad program, including EY-sponsored funding.
Testimonials from past & current students who attended the program.
Additional resources to help finance this opportunity, plus guidance on how to appl

Who Should Attend:
Accounting BBA juniors/seniors & graduate students who are interested in adding an experiential learning opportunity to their program of study.
Questions? Contact Dr. Veena Brown, brownvml@uwm.edu
Registration Required

Webinar: The Dollar, Trade, and Commodities
2025-12-04 12:00 - 13:10
Featuring: Dr. Kevin G. Spellman, CFA (aka “Coach”), Professor of Practice, David O. Nicholas Director of Investment Management, Lubar College of Business. Also featuring
Guest Economists and Strategists.
The dollar has fallen in 2025, and trade policies are often on the front page of the news. Commodity prices are tied to the dollar. Attend the webinar to learn about what drives the trade deficit, the dollar, and commodities, and how the latter two impact inflation.
Registration Required

A Tale of Two Market Returns: The Broad Market Factor and The Idiosyncratic Financial Factor
2025-12-05 14:00 - 15:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Johnathan Loudis, University of Notre Dame

We construct a broad market factor (BMF) which reflects the value-weighted return on all firms in the US economy (public and private). The BMF differs from the standard value-weighted market factor (VMF), the value-weighted return on public firms in the US economy. The difference between the VMF and the BMF is the idiosyncratic financial factor (IFF): the IFF carries no risk premium and is uncorrelated with all macroeconomic proxies for investor marginal utility we consider. Consistent with a model featuring selection into public markets, we provide evidence that market risk is underestimated when measured with respect to the VMF compared to the BMF for most assets, and that using the BMF in place of the VMF resolves the size anomaly and renders size factors redundant in standard multi-factor models. Moreover, the BMF implies a substantially stronger intertemporal risk-return tradeoff. The IFF adds unpriced risk to the VMF, distorting both cross-sectional and time-series estimates of exposure to priced market risk. Thus, we provide both theoretical and empirical evidence for how the IFF explains three long-standing asset pricing “puzzles”: 1) the CAPM underestimates discount rates for most assets, 2) the size anomaly, and 3) the weak intertemporal risk-return relation.
About the Speaker:
Johnathan Loudis is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on empirical asset pricing, asset pricing theory, and macro-finance. He received his PhD in financial economics from the University of Chicago through a joint degree program between the Booth School of Business and the Kenneth C. Griffin Department of Economics. Johnathan also holds masters degrees in economics from the University of Chicago and materials science from Dartmouth College.

Does the Control–Cash Flow Rights Wedge Capture Private Benefits of Control? Evidence from a Mandatory Bid Rule Reform
2026-01-30 14:00 - 15:00 | Lubar Hall, N440, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Carlos Acuna, Lubar College of Business, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee

Carlos examines whether the control–cash flow rights wedge captures private benefits of control (PBC) by exploiting Chile’s adoption of the Mandatory Bid Rule (MBR), which requires equal-price offers to all shareholders in control transactions. Firms could opt out for three years through early notification, with opting out reflecting higher PBC. He finds an inverted U-shaped relationship between opting out and the wedge, consistent with outsider monitoring limiting expropriation beyond the turning point. The inverted-U implies that the wedge is an imperfect proxy for PBC, calling for measures that capture both insider expropriation incentives and outsider monitoring intensity.

Webinar: Asset Rotations Over the Cycle
2026-02-04 12:00 - 13:10
Featuring: Dr. Kevin G. Spellman, CFA (aka “Coach”), Professor of Practice, David O. Nicholas Director of Investment Management, Lubar College of Business. Also featuring
Guest Economists and Strategists.
Learn how the economy and financial markets are intrinsically connected in this four-part webinar series as we discuss today’s environment. We begin with a review of the cycle and of what specific parts of the market say about the upcoming economy. Then, we take a dive and look at current US government finances and monetary policy. Moving on, we analyze the dollar, trade, and commodities. We end our discussion by analyzing current returns and how different assets (stocks, bonds, sectors, etc.) rotate over the cycle.
Registration Required

Undergraduate New Admitted Student Day
2026-02-07 08:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-07 08:00 - 14:00, 2026-03-14 08:00 - 14:00 | Lubar Hall, N140, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Celebrate your admission, explore campus, and prepare for success as a future Business Panther! Enjoy a pep rally, student engagement fair, housing showcase, and chances to win UWM scholarships and swag throughout the day.
Exclusive event series for Admitted Students. Dates to choose from: February 7th, March 7th or March 14th.
Register Now!

Creative Destruction in the Healthcare Sector: Hospital Closures and Patient Outcomes
2026-02-13 14:00 - 15:30 | Webinar
Part of the Lubar Research Seminar Series
Speaker: Tim Liu, University of Utah

Since 2010, the US has seen the net closure of over 100 hospitals, underscoring a need to better understand how closures impact patient outcomes. Using confidential patient-level data, we track patients who are displaced from closed hospitals and forced to seek treatment elsewhere, measuring their outcomes pre and post closure. We find that individuals whose hospital closes and who subsequently switch to another facility experience better health outcomes, relative to patients who do not lose their hospital. Patients displaced by closures tend to receive treatment at higher-quality hospitals characterized by stronger financial performance and higher staffing ratios, suggesting that market exit by inefficient providers may reallocate patients toward better-performing institutions. While displaced patients who remain in the hospital system find higher quality care, we find evidence that elderly patients in rural areas experience elevated mortality outside of the hospital system, suggesting limited accessibility to substitute providers. Overall, our findings reveal heterogeneous effects of hospital closures: while they may enhance care quality and efficiency for most patients, they pose significant risks to patient health in immobile populations.
Tim Liu is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business. His research focuses on corporate finance, labor economics, and healthcare. He earned his PhD in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. His work has been published in the Review of Financial Studies.

Accelerated Graduate Degree (AGD) Information Session
2026-02-17 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-04-06 16:00 - 17:00, 2026-06-10 12:00 - 13:00 | Webinar
Join us to learn more about the accelerated graduate degree (AGD). We will discuss how it works, why it’s a good idea, what the requirements are, and how a graduate degree can set you up for career success.
Register Now

Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Research
2026-03-13 10:00 - 11:00 | Webinar
Large language models (LLMs) and artificial intelligence (AI) are generating a tidal wave of transformative change, increasing productivity, and generating more than a trillion words each day. The upswing in the quantity of scholarly work and journal submissions, however, has also made more pertinent questions how we could use AI responsibly in conducting research, while preserving research integrity and maintaining human accountability. Furthermore, what does AI use mean for the broader community of readers, scholars, reviewers, authors, and editors?
Our distinguished panel will discuss how AI-assisted research and creativity could augment the scientific discovery process, as well as potentially harm it. What is the need for editorial oversight regarding the use of AI in data analysis and manuscript development? What constitutes an appropriate level of transparency and the disclosure of how, when, and where authors have utilized AI in their submissions or underlying research? When is AI use synergistic or antithetical to mainlining the quality and standards of academic journals which value human voice and research transparency.
Dr. Daniel Muzio is a Professor of Management. He joined York in 2018 from the University of Newcastle, having previously worked at the Universities of: Manchester, Leeds and Lancaster. He has held visiting positions at the University of Oxford, Cass Business School, and Luiss Guido Carli in Rome. He is Chair of the Organization and Management Editors Network (the first professional association in the area), and
served as founding editor for the Journal of Professions and Organization, and General Editor of the Journal of Management Studies.

Dr. Corinne Post, the Fred J. Springer Endowed Chair in Business Leadership, is an expert in workplace diversity with a focus on women on boards, in top management teams, and in leadership roles. Her research addresses diversity as an enabler or impediment to group and organizational performance and career trajectories. Dr. Post has presented her research at academic conferences and professional organizations internationally and earned a grant from the National Science Foundation. Her research has been discussed in places such as the Harvard Business Review, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. She is also a contributor at Forbes. Dr. Post earned her BS in Organization Management and a Masters in International Management from HEC, University of Geneva and HEC, University of Lausanne—both in Switzerland—respectively. She received her PhD in Organization Management from Rutgers University. Prior to joining academia, she was an IT analyst and human resource specialist for Accenture.
Dr. Christopher Wickert is Professor of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU), The Netherlands and Director of the VU Business & Society Knowledge Hub (https://business-society.org). His primary research interests are in the broader role of business in society, sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and various strands of organizational theory. Christopher has published widely on the topic of CSR in journals such as Academy of Management Discoveries, Business & Society, Harvard Business Review, Human Relations, International Journal of Management Reviews, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Organization & Environment, Organization Studies, and Strategic Organization. He was General Editor at the Journal of Management Studies from 2023-2025, and previously Associate Editor at the same journal from 2019-2022.

Registration Required
Sponsored by: M&I Center for Business Ethics

Bradley Distinguished Lecture Series
2026-03-19 12:00 - 13:30 | Discovery World, 500 N. Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Private Equity and Venture Capital in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Steven N. Kaplan, Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance, and Kessenich E.P. Faculty Director, Polsky Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
The large increase in private equity, venture capital and private debt has generated widespread interest and scrutiny, particularly in light of the AI-boom and its financing. What is the history of private equity and venture capital? What do private equity and venture capital actually do to the companies they invest in? How have they really performed for investors? With the investment boom, how are they likely to perform in the future in the age of AI? Do these investors and their investment structures make us vulnerable to another financial crisis?
Dr. Kaplan offers his analysis and perspectives on these issues and his views on potential implications for policymakers.
About the Speaker

Dr. Kaplan’s research focuses on private equity, venture capital, corporate governance and executive talent. He was elected a Fellow of the American Finance Association in recognition of distinguished contributions to the field of finance. He is the co-creator of the Kaplan-Schoar PME (Public Market Equivalent) private equity benchmarking approach. A Fortune Magazine article referred to him as “probably the foremost private equity scholar in the galaxy.” Professor Kaplan is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research.
Professor Kaplan co-founded the entrepreneurship program at Booth. With his students, he helped start Booth’s business plan competition, the New Venture Challenge (NVC), which has spawned over two hundred companies. The companies have raised over $1.2 billion from investors and have created over $10 billion in market value. Companies include GrubHub, Simple Mills, Braintree/Venmo, Open Water and Tovala. Professor Kaplan serves on the board of Morningstar (MORN). He co-created the Lincoln Middle Market Index.
Professor Kaplan earned his PhD in Business Economics from Harvard University. He received his AB, summa cum laude, in Applied Mathematics and Economics from Harvard College.
Registration is now closed. Please contact Kennedy Wiegel for more information.
Lunch will be provided.
Sponsored by UWM’s Lubar College of Business and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

Real Estate Certificate Information Session
2026-04-08 15:00 - 15:45 | Lubar Hall, N126
Boost your career with UWM’s redesigned Real Estate Certificate.
You’ll build real financial, analytical, and management skills while exploring every corner of the industry—from development and investment to property and asset management. With hands‑on learning and direct exposure to industry professionals, you’ll graduate with a competitive edge and the confidence to step into high‑impact real estate roles.
Register Now

Financial Planning Certificate Information Session
2026-04-09 16:00 - 16:45 | Lubar Hall, S195, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
Launch your career as a financial advisor with Lubar’s new certificate in Financial Planning.
You’ll learn how to assess a client’s full financial picture and guide them toward both short‑ and long‑term goals. This certificate gives you the practical skills, confidence, and professional insight to step into a growing, people‑focused field.
Offered as a combined session with the IMCP certificate.
Register Now

Investment Management Certificate Information Session
2026-04-09 16:00 - 16:45 | Lubar Hall, S195, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53201, United States
In the Lubar College’s IMCP, you’ll manage real portfolios while earning your degree.
As part of our CFA Institute University Affiliation, you’ll learn by doing—building hands‑on investment skills that set you apart in the finance industry.
Offered as a combined session with the Financial Planning certificate.
Register Now

Stakeholder Capitalism: What It Is and What It Is Not
2026-04-10 12:00 - 13:30 | Wisconsin Room, UWM Union, 2200 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, 53211, United States
Featuring: Ed Freeman, University Professor, Distinguished Chair in Business Administration Professor, Olsson Professor, and Academic Director of the Institute for Business in Society at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business
R. Edward Freeman is best known for his award-winning book, Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach (Pitman, 1984; and reprinted by Cambridge University Press in 2010). His latest books are R. Edward Freeman’s Selected Works on Stakeholder Theory and Ethics with Sergiy Dmytriyev(Springer Nature, 2023), Defeating Dengue with Andrew Sell (Columbia University Press, 2024), Models of Leadership in Plato and Beyond with Dominic Scott (Oxford, 2021); Humanizing Business with Michel Dion and Sergiy Dmytriyev (Springer Nature, 2022); The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Trade-offs, with Bidhan Parmar and Kirsten Martin (Columbia 2020); The Cambridge Handbook of Stakeholder Theory with Jeffrey Harrison, Jay Barney and Robert Phillips (Cambridge 2019); and, Research Approaches to Business Ethics and Corporate Responsibility with Patricia Werhane and Sergiy Dmytriyev, (Cambridge, 2017). He has received seven honorary doctorates (Doctor Honoris Causa) from: HEC Paris in France; Radboud University in the Netherlands; Universidad Pontificia Comillas in Spain; the Hanken School of Economics, and Tampere University in Finland; Sherbrooke University in Canada; and, Leuphana University in Germany, for his work on stakeholder theory and business ethics. In 2022 he received the University of Virginia’s most prestigious award, The Thomas Jefferson Award for Scholarship. Freeman served as Co-Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Business Ethics, one of the leading journals in business ethics, from 2016-2020. He is a lifelong student of philosophy, martial arts and the blues. Freeman is a founding member of Red Goat Records (redgoatrecords.com) bringing the joy of original soul and rhythm and blues music into the 21st Century. He is the host of The Stakeholder Podcast, sponsored by Stakeholder Media, LLC.
Lunch will be provided.
Sponsored by: M&I Center for Business Ethics
Register Now

Artificial Intelligence & Analytics for Business Certificate Information Session
2026-04-15 15:00 - 15:45 | Lubar Hall, N126
Stand out in the future of business with Lubar’s new certificate in AI.
You’ll learn how to analyze data, build practical AI solutions, and apply cutting‑edge tools that give you a real advantage in the global economy and next‑gen workforce.
Register Now

Leading with AI: Turning Capabilities into Business Value Through Governance
2026-05-01 09:00 - 12:30 | Webinar
From AI potential to practical deployment, this webinar explores how business leaders can translate AI capabilities into value through thoughtful governance, responsible implementation, and trust-building across the full AI lifecycle.
ACADEMIC KEYNOTE
AI in Business & Society: Capabilities, Building Systems & Governance
9:00 – 9:50am, followed by a 10 minute break
Dr. Balaji Padmanabhan
Associate Dean & Professor, University of Maryland, Director of Center for Artificial Intelligence in Business
Focusing on the capabilities of modern AI, the talk will go over some of the big opportunities and challenges in front of us, and how should we think about managing and governing AI in businesses today. The talk will examine questions about the future of work for humans in the age of AI and offer some recommendations for individuals, business leaders, policy makers, and universities in this context.

INDUSTRY KEYNOTE
Winning with AI: Leading with Safety
10:00 – 10:50am, followed by a 10 minute break
Sudhi Ranjan Sinha
Vice President of Global and Strategic Accounts, UL Solutions

AI is reshaping the products and systems we rely on. But as adoption accelerates, so do the risks. This talk examines the new risk realities introduced by AI enabled products, the safety principles leaders must get right, and the practical actions that turn responsible deployment into competitive advantage. Through real world examples, attendees will see how strong, product level safety practices and independent evaluation reduce uncertainty, accelerate adoption and differentiate leaders in an AI driven market.

CASE STUDY
Scaling Manufacturing with AI: From Pilot Projects to Scalable Intelligence
11:00 – 11:30am
Shruti Harish
Cloud and AI Platforms Engineering Leader, Microsoft
AI is becoming a foundational capability in modern manufacturing, transitioning from pilot initiatives to real-world, production-scale deployments that drive measurable business outcomes. By integrating machine learning, computer vision, and IoT data with MES and ERP, firms are enabling real-time insights, predictive decision-making, and closed-loop automation. This shift is enhancing operational efficiency, improving product quality, reducing costs, and creating more agile and resilient manufacturing environments.

PANEL DISCUSSION
Where AI Meets Business: Prototyping Actionable Enterprise Ready AI Architecture
11:30am – 12:30pm
Moderator: Juliana Javor
Microsoft AI Co-innovation Lab

A reality check with local companies that partnered with Microsoft AI Co-innovation Lab to ensure technology strengthens Wisconsin’s foundation for the future. We will hear about how startups and manufacturers harness the power of AI to create real solutions, deliver better experiences, and drive economic growth for their customers and workforce.

Summer Undergraduate Business Information Session
2026-08-06 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-08-20 11:30 - 12:30 | Lubar Hall, N297 – Undergraduate Student Services

Accelerated Graduate Degree (AGD) Information Session
2026-08-06 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-10-05 16:00 - 17:00 | Webinar
Interested in earning your bachelor’s and master’s degrees in less time? Join this information session to learn more about the Accelerated Graduate Degree (AGD) programs offered through the Lubar College of Business.
AGD programs allow eligible undergraduate students to begin graduate coursework while completing their bachelor’s degree, creating a streamlined path to earning both degrees.
During this session, you’ll learn:

How AGD programs work
Available AGD pathway options
The benefits of pursuing an AGD
When an AGD may—or may not—be the right choice for you
Eligibility requirements and application timelines
Graduate admission processes
Tuition, financial aid, and funding opportunities

You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions and connect with staff who can help you explore your options and plan your academic journey.
Register Now

Lubar LinkUp
2026-08-25 16:00 - 19:30 | Sprecher Brewing Company, 701 W. Glendale Ave, Glendale, WI, 53209, United States
Get a head start as a new MBA and MS student by building connections that last beyond the classroom!
Join us for an unforgettable evening of great food, local brews (and the best soda around), live music, and meaningful connections. Discover what drives you as a leader through the Workday Genius Assessment, explore how Lubar’s Career Services can help you achieve your professional goals, and meet the classmates, faculty, alumni, and staff who will become part of your Lubar network. Lubar LinkUp is required for all new MBA/MS students.
Registration Required

Lubar Academic Welcome Session for Undergraduate Students
2026-09-01 11:00 - 12:00 | Lubar Hall, 1st Floor
At the academic welcome session your Lubar Academic Advisors will present information on what to expect during your first week, key academic policies, important business curriculum, and highlight resources and opportunities we offer at the College.

Lubar Fall Fest 2026
2026-09-16 11:00 - 13:00 | Pangaea Mall – outdoor green space to the east/behind Lubar Hall, 3202 N. Maryland Ave., Milwaukee, WI, 53211
The Lubar College of Business invites all business students, new and returning, to celebrate the 2026-2027 academic year!
Enjoy a free lunch and t-shirt* from your faculty, staff, and advisors! * while supplies last.
Registration Required
For more information or to request accommodations, contact uwmbba@uwm.edu

Fall Undergraduate Business Information Session
2026-09-16 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-09-30 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-10-14 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-10-28 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-11-11 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-11-25 11:30 - 12:30, 2026-12-09 11:30 - 12:30 | Lubar Hall, N297 – Undergraduate Student Services

Bradley Distinguished Lecture Series
2026-10-22 11:30 - 13:30 | Discovery World, 500 N. Harbor Dr, Milwaukee, WI, United States
Will AI Solve Rich Countries’ Debt Woes?
Kenneth Rogoff is Boas Professor of Economics at Harvard University, and former chief economist at the IMF.
Although public debt levels in many countries, including the United States, are at record levels, many commentators believe that the arrival of AI will put all concerns in the rear view memory, with booming growth pushing up tax revenues even as falling interest rates push down costs. Unfortunately, the path to abundance and harmony is riddled with economic and political landmines that make near-term crisis considerably more likely than near-term abundance. Longer-term, achieving an economically and politically sustainable distribution of benefits is not only challenging for individual countries, but for the world as a whole, given that regions with the fastest population growth seem likely to be among the biggest losers. Given this turmoil, how does one assess the risks of a debilitating major financial or debt crisis? Parts of the lecture will build on Rogoff’s recent book “Our Dollar, Your Problem.”

About the Speaker

Kenneth Rogoff is Boas Professor of economics at Harvard University, and former chief economist at the IMF. His influential and NY Times bestselling 2009 book with Carmen Reinhart, This Time Is Different, shows the remarkable quantitative similarities across time and countries in the roots and aftermath of financial crises. Rogoff is also known for his pioneering work on central bank independence, and on exchange rates. His syndicated global economy column is published in over 50 countries. Rogoff’s national bestselling recent book Our Dollar, Your Problem: An Insider’s View of Seven Turbulent Decades of Global Finance explores the post-war rise of the dollar and the challenges ahead, and argues that the period of reliably low interest rates and inflation has likely ended.
Rogoff is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has long ranked among the top dozen most cited economists, and is an international grandmaster of chess.
Registration Required
Lunch will be provided.
Sponsored by UWM’s Lubar College of Business and The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation.

UWM Preview Day
2026-10-23 10:00 - 14:30 | Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, 2100 E. Kenwood Blvd., Milwaukee, WI, 53201
Preview what’s possible by going beyond the brochure. Whether you’re curious about research, hands-on learning, or the spaces where big ideas come to life, you’ll shape the day around what matters to you.

Explore UWM academic majors and resources throughout the day
A behind-the-scenes look at labs, studios, and classrooms
There will be two sessions, one from 10:00am – 11:30am and 12:30pm – 2:00pm

Register Now!

UWM Preview Day
2026-11-06 10:00 - 14:30 | Lubar Hall, S151
