Departments Program Updates Finance Professor and Coauthors Write Award-Winning Paper on Stock Volatility Yexiao Xu, assistant professor of Finance in The School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), has been awarded the American Finance Association's Smith Breeden best-paper prize for "Have Individual Stocks Become More Volatile? An Empirical Exploration of Idiosyncratic Risk," written with John Y. Campbell of Harvard University, Martin Lettau of the Federal Reserve Bank in New York City, and Burton G. Malkiel of Princeton University. The Smith Breeden prizes are awarded annually for the top three papers published in The Journal of Finance. The prizewinner for the best paper is awarded ten thousand dollars, and the two prizes for distinguished papers earn five thousand dollars each. Bloomberg Financial, Business Week, Economic Institution, Financial Times, Fortune, Money, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal have each cited the paper, which was published as the lead article in the February 2001 issue of The Journal of Finance, the prestigious academic publication of the finance association that appears six times yearly and focuses on scholarly research in financial economics. "On behalf of UTD and The School of Management, I would like to congratulate Professor Xu on achieving this award. The amount of recognition for this paper has been outstanding," says Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the School. The paper argues that despite the common feeling of increasing volatility in the stock market in the recent decade, the market has been fairly stable over the past forty years. "Investors feel there are tremendous uncertainties about individual stocks because of company specific, or idiosyncratic, risk," states Professor Xu. "In fact, idiosyncratic volatility has doubled over the past forty years. In the words of New York Times columnist Mark Hulbert, 'The sea is calm, the ponds are choppy.'" This idea has very important implications for investors. Standard finance theory recommends that investors hold a diversified portfolio because they will only be rewarded for taking market risk. "The rule of thumb in the old days was that holding a portfolio of twenty stocks was sufficient to diversify away idiosyncratic risk. This has become more difficult to achieve because idiosyncratic risk has gone up so much in the recent decade. Our results suggest that individual investors should at least hold a portfolio of fifty stocks," adds Dr. Xu. Professor Xu graduated from Princeton University in 1996 with a PhD in economics. Prior to attending Princeton, he spent three years at Brigham Young University and received two master's degrees, one in managerial economics and one in electrical and computer engineering. At UTD, Professor Xu teaches both undergraduate and graduate corporate finance as well as a seminar in asset pricing for PhD students. Project Management Adds Online and International Segments In response to requests from both industry and individual students, The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management (SOM) has launched two new offerings this spring in its innovative Project Management Program. One is an online version of Project Management Master and MBA courses, which began May 2. The other is an international study exchange, which took UTD project management students to Germany in April. The May kickoff of the Internet version of the program's degree coursework follows the launch last fall of Project Management's non-credit professional development short courses. The program's new study exchange is in cooperation with the University of Applied Science at Landshut, Germany. UTD Project Management students in the last phase of their master's degree curriculum participate in the international coursework program. The exchange is designed to provide students the chance to study strategic and operational aspects of companies in an international environment. It also gives them the experience of living in and studying a different culture. The Project Management Program is the third graduate-degree curriculum the SOM has offered online since 1995. "Our online graduate programs have served as a model for other schools and universities," says School of Management Dean Dr. Hasan Pirkul. "We have the experience, and we don't have to reinvent the wheel each time we add a new program such as this one in Project Management." Jim Joiner, UTD's Project Management Program director, says that the international exchange will provide an invaluable dimension to the program. "This type of study exchange is critical as the project management field becomes more global. This will not be just a tour. Many of our students already work for global companies here, like Ericsson, Texas Instruments, and Alcatel," he says. "By forming this relationship with the university in Landshut, we are able to gain access to and knowledge from some of the top companies in Germany," Mr. Joiner says. "Likewise, we offer the same caliber of contacts for them here in Dallas-Fort Worth. It is a meaningful relationship for both universities." German students will visit The University of Texas at Dallas as part of the exchange program in October 2002. The following year, the UTD program will exchange with students from the Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille in France. It will then alternate every other year between the German and French universities. Both UTD's Project Management professional development and degree program, which Project Management Network Magazine has named to its "Best Bet" programs list worldwide, were developed in response to the needs of Dallas-area industries. The programs blend technical, leadership, and general business training to help project team leaders meet the changing needs of new corporate structures. Both are endorsed as registered education providers of the Project Management Institute. In the online version, the program's curriculum is not changed but adapted for Internet delivery. Students work in virtual teams and cohort groups. On-campus retreats are required only at the beginning and end of the first year of study. Several completion options are available with the Project Management online degree program. Students can opt to spend twelve months preparing for the Project Management Professional (PMP) Exam, the certifying exam of the Project Management Institute. Many students opt to continue for another eleven months to earn a Master of Science degree with emphasis in Project Management. An MBA degree with a concentration in Project Management also is offered and may be obtained in an additional seven months after the MS degree. For more information or to register for the Project Management online degree program, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/project or call 972-883-2656 or 972-883-2652. Professional Development Forums Focus on Collaboration and Teamwork "The Power of Facilitation: We've Got to Start Meeting Like This" was the topic of a presentation by Susan Nurre, president of the Bagheri Group, at the Winter 2002 UTD Professional Development Forum on February 28. A specialist in finding business solutions, Ms. Nurre discussed the current state of meetings, how they fail, and how to improve them. The fall forum on December 6, 2001, featured Charles (Rusty) Cone, president of Alliance Systems, whose topic, "Why One-Man Bands Don't Hit the Charts - Teamwork Initiatives in a Challenging Business Environment," focused on how a team strategy benefits companies in today's economy. The School of Management presents the Professional Development Forum quarterly at the UTD Conference Center. The forum series presents current trends and issues in employee training and professional development. For more information on the series, contact Ken Gilliam at 972-883-2204 or gilliam@utdallas.edu. Professor Suresh Sethi Named IEEE Fellow The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Inc. has elected U.T. Dallas School of Management Professor Suresh Sethi to one of its top honors, naming him an IEEE Fellow. Dr. Sethi's election took effect January 1. 2001 IEEE President Joel Snyder cited Dr. Sethi's contributions in control and optimization of management and economic systems in announcing his election to the organization's highest grade of membership. IEEE selects one-tenth of one percent of its three hundred thousand members worldwide annually to fellowship status. Fellows are selected for extraordinary records of accomplishment in any of the IEEE fields of interest. "UTD in Washington" SOM Programs Visit Nation's Capitol Congressman Martin Frost of Dallas was a featured speaker during the UTD Executive MBA and Project Management Program students' trip to Washington, D.C., in January. Pictured above (left to right) are EMBA Director Dr. Jasper Arnold, "UTD in Washington" course professor Dr. Diane McNulty, Congressman Frost, UTD Project Management Program Director Jim Joiner, and Vicquar Ahmad of the U.T. System Office in Washington, who helped coordinate the trip. EMBA and Project Management students also met with congressional committee staffers, lobbyists, and officials from regulatory agencies. The course is designed to help students develop a working knowledge of how government policy impacts business as well as how the public policy process works. Recent Cohort MBA Grad Wins Texas Business Hall of Fame Scholarship Nicole Curtis, who received her MBA in December 2001, was one of twenty students from throughout the state of Texas to receive a five-thousand- dollar scholarship from the Texas Business Hall of Fame last fall. The students were chosen on the basis of their "entrepreneurial spirit that...[is the] future...of business in Texas," according to an announcement from the Texas Business Hall of Fame. The Houston-based Hall of Fame is the nineteen-year-old organization that honors outstanding business leaders who also have contributed to their community. The students were recognized and received their scholarships at an awards dinner October 18 in Houston. Ms. Curtis graduated from The School of Management's Cohort MBA Program. Jim Joiner is New Chairman of PMI Advisory Council Jim Joiner, director of The School of Management's Project Management Program, has been elected chairman of the National Project Management Institute (PMI) Accreditation Advisory Council. The council evaluates accreditation of both degree and non-degree programs at higher education institutions around the globe. Mr. Joiner helped organize the UTD Project Management Program in 1997. Prior to joining the University, he worked for thirty years with Texas Instruments, Inc., where he was an operations manager and held management positions in TI plants in England, Chile, Brazil, Curaçao, and France in addition to several facilities in the United States. He is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa, where he studied business and engineering. Accounting and Information Management to Offer New Degree Plans Several new degree plans designed to allow specialization in the most up- to-date areas of Accounting and Information Management will be offered at both the undergraduate and graduate levels beginning the fall semester of 2002. In announcing the curriculum changes, Dr. Rajiv Banker, director of The School of Management's Accounting and Information Management Programs, explains that students interested in careers in traditional auditing and taxation services can choose concentrations in either financial planning and analysis, assurance services, taxation services, or international services. Those interested in careers focused on contemporary issues in the information economy can select from management consulting, information management, or software management concentrations. Dr. Banker notes that the new degree plans include several new courses as well as a refocusing of several existing courses. "This reorganized and expanded curriculum enables our students to specialize in their area of interest and become more marketable to future employers," he says. Career Tips: Don't Forget the Basics The UTD School of Management Career Services Center makes available to both the School's alumni and current students such services as career assessments, aptitude tests, and career development counseling. The center also provides job search counseling, including tips like these from center director Judy Guyer: * Don't go it alone developing your résumé-get external professional input. There is too much room for error, and you could waste valuable opportunities by providing a résumé that is not the best reflection of your talents. * Be smart about interviewing. Polish your skills. Consider doing a videotaped "mock interview" to discover how others see you. The Career Services Center offers this service by appointment. * Do research on any company where you will be interviewing. It is smart to do this for other companies that interest you also. Have at least two intelligent in-depth questions to ask at any interview. This will set you apart as a more desirable candidate. * Don't let your talents become obsolete. Continue to expand your professional talents, network by attending professional development conferences, and stay attuned to changes in your industry. For more information, contact Ms. Guyer at 972-883-6832 or guyer@utdallas.edu. MIT Forum Hosts 'Inventors of the Future' The UTD School of Management's division of Executive and Professional Development played host January 17 to the MIT Forum's "A Conversation with Two Great Inventors of the Future," which featured the 2000 Nobel Laureate Dr. Alan MacDiarmid (bottom left) and entrepreneur Wu-Fu Chen (top left). Dr. MacDiarmid, who is Blanchard Professor of Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania, shared the 2000 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with chemists Alan J. Heeger of the United States and Hideki Shirakawa of Japan for their pioneering work with synthetic materials. Dr. MacDiarmid recently joined UTD as distinguished scholar in residence, chairman of the advisory board of UTD"s NanoTech Institute, and as special science advisor to UTD President Franklyn Jenifer. Mr. Chen was elected one of the top ten entrepreneurs of 2000 by Red Herring magazine and has been ranked as one of the top one hundred venture investors in the United States by Forbes magazine. The MIT Enterprise Forum is sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Alumnae Association. The January 17 event was also cosponsored by the Dallas-Fort Worth chapter of the Chinese Institute of Engineers/USA. SOM students tapped for UTD Alumni Association Ring honor Two of the three graduating seniors chosen as recipients of the UTD Alumni Association's Ring Award are School of Management students. Emily McKee (left), who is graduating in May with a Master of Science degree with a concentration in Information Technology Management and Consulting, and Cara Smedley, who is graduating in May with a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems, both won the newly designed official UTD rings in the competition this spring. An Engineering and Computer Science student, Priscilla Cox, was the third ring winner in the alumni association contest. The purpose of the competition is to recognize students who have attained outstanding levels of academic achievement and whose contributions have made a significant impact upon the lives of the University community and the community at large. For more information on the Ring Award contest, contact Patricia Hill-Yandell, UTD alumni relations officer, at 972-883-2586 or yandell@utdallas.edu.