Since 2003, the Neel Corporate Governance Center (CGC), housed in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business, has been conducting and disseminating nationally recognized research on corporate governance. The center enables faculty members from Haslam and the UT College of Law to collaborate and provide an interdisciplinary perspective on a variety of topics. With these goals in mind, the CGC welcomes Tingting Liu, Austin Starkweather, Tomer Stein and Daniel Weagley as its newest research fellows.
Lauren Cunningham, director of research for the CGC and Haslam’s Keith Stanga Professor of Accounting, says, “This is an exciting time to be a part of the Neel Corporate Governance Center. With the addition of these four new research fellows, we have now doubled in size compared to five years ago. Each of these new research fellows brings unique perspectives on timely governance issues in finance and law, helping us to build upon our vision to provide an interdisciplinary view on key challenges in corporate governance.”
Tracie Woidtke, finance department head, CGC research fellow and David E. Sharp-Home Federal Bank of Tennessee Professor in Banking and Finance, says, “The [new fellows’] research will broaden the area of corporate governance expertise in the Haslam College of Business and Neel Corporate Governance Center and further bridge the connection between scholarship and practice in exciting ways.”
Tingting Liu: The Evolution of Classified Board Structures
Tingting Liu is a professor in the Department of Finance. She has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Management Science, Accounting Review, Review of Accounting Studies and Journal of Law and Economics.
“Tingting Liu is a research member of the European Corporate Governance Institute and has a distinguished record of thought leadership in corporate governance,” Woidtke says. “In particular, she brings new expertise in the area of mergers and acquisitions.”
“I am honored to be selected as a Neel Center research fellow and am excited to join and contribute to the center,” Liu says. “My current research focuses on corporate governance, with a particular emphasis on the evolution of classified board structures over time. Our findings provide novel evidence that the prevailing institutional and environmental context significantly influences corporate governance practices.”
Austin Starkweather: SEC Regulations and Managerial Decisions
Austin Starkweather is an assistant professor of practice in the Department of Finance. His research has been published in the Review of Financial Studies and Review of Finance.
“Austin Starkweather’s research focuses on executive compensation and the relationship between corporations and their investors,” Woidtke says. “He also brings years of consulting experience, which helps connect scholarship and practice.”
“I’m very excited to be engaged in such an active community of researchers,” Starkweather says. “At the moment, I’m engaged in researching the interactions between investors and managers as well as the effect of SEC regulations on financial policy. I hope it will improve managerial decision making that will lead to better outcomes.”
Tomer Stein: The Intersection of Law, Finance and Economics
Tomer Stein is an assistant professor at the College of Law. His teaching and scholarship focus on business associations (in particular, corporate law and governance), contracts, mergers and acquisitions. He is a frequent speaker in academic and industry conferences, and his scholarly publications have appeared or are forthcoming in law journals such as the Arizona State Law Journal, the Hastings Law Journal and the Buffalo Law Review.
Joan Heminway, CGC research fellow and Rick Rose Distinguished Professor of Law, says, “Tomer Stein is a prolific business law scholar whose research offers new theoretical perspectives on deep-seated issues in corporate governance and corporate law more generally, including especially as they relate to management and control.”
“The Neel Corporate Governance Center provides an indispensable locus for a synergetic and interdisciplinary examination of corporate governance,” Stein says. “As a legal scholar whose work crosses over into finance and economics, my teaching and scholarly productivity are greatly enhanced by the center’s support and network of internationally renowned scholars.”
Daniel Weagley: Financial Frictions and Investor Decision Making
Daniel Weagley is an associate professor of practice in the Department of Finance. His work has been published in the Journal of Finance, Review of Financial Studies, Management Science and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, presented at conferences worldwide and covered by national media outlets.
Woidtke says, “Daniel Weagley conducts research on the role of financial frictions in climate finance and labor finance, which broadens the scope of our contribution to important public policy issues.”
“I am excited to join the Neel CGC as a research fellow — what a unique and valuable center for faculty and students,” Weagley says. “I really look forward to learning from and collaborating with a great group of corporate governance scholars.”
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