Russell Wermers, professor of finance and director of the 

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. 

As a Securities and Exchange Commission deputy chief economist, Kathleen Weiss Hanley has garnered praise for delivering “critical thought leadership” and spurring “rigorous economic modeling.” This fall, the respected economic strategist and researcher returns to the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business finance faculty, which she served from 1994-1999. She arrives from the SEC with a colleague -- Associate Professor Gerard Hoberg, following his one-year sabbatical as a visiting financial economist.