Conversations about gender in the workplace often focus on equity, inclusion, dignity and justice. All are worthy goals fundamental to quality of life. But I would add another word to the mix: Innovation. Something powerful happens when people step outside their comfort zones and confront new perspectives. Patterns get broken, risks get taken and problems get solved.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Financial regulators and researchers explored new ideas on May 16, 2014, during a daylong conference co-hosted by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Center for Financial Policy at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. 

The last six months have passed by in a whirlwind of activity for me. I have been in just about every corner of the United States, meeting alumni and reconnecting with many of my old students along the way.

On March 28, 2014, at the North Marriott Hotel & Conference Center in Bethesda, Md., students, faculty and business professionals met for the third annual Smith School Business Summit.  This year’s theme looked at innovation as an essential building block for the prosperity and survival of corporations. With more than 600 registered attendants, it was the largest Summit yet.

This is the cover story from the latest edition of Smith Business Magazine.Download  Fall 2013 Smith Business Magazine PDF.

College Park, Md. – November 5, 2009 — The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business launched the new Center for Financial Policy on Nov. 2 with a roundtable discussion on the hotly debated issue of “Executive Compensation—Practices and Reform.” The Center for Financial Policy offers an unbiased source of expertise on complex policy issues related to financial institutions, financial markets and public companies through cutting edge education and research.

Smith School faculty have been actively involved in advising key players and proposing potential solutions to the finance crisis, briefing congressional staffers, members of the House and Senate Committee on Banking and the Committee on Government Oversight, and the federal Oversight and Government Reform Committee on issues from the collapse of Bear Stearns to the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

It has been over a year since the credit crunch started. The effects continue to ripple through the economy. The housing market is dismal and the Federal Reserve has resorted to extraordinary measures to prop up the banking industry. The number of big corporate mergers is down sharply. Deals getting done these days are largely financed with money from overseas or from companies using their own funds. What are the lessons learned and what will be the ultimate outcomes?

Addressing #MeToo requires more women leaders; the backlash to #MeToo could create the opposite. Smith School experts offer advice for would-be mentors in the changed environment.

Business schools might seem safely removed from the transformation happening across corporate America. They're not. Institutions like mine play a central role in shaping attitudes about gender in the workplace