{"id":114043,"date":"2016-06-29T09:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-06-29T13:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?post_type=school-college-post&p=114043"},"modified":"2016-06-28T15:56:18","modified_gmt":"2016-06-28T19:56:18","slug":"celebrations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2016\/06\/celebrations\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrations"},"content":{"rendered":"

School Honors Faculty Whose Accomplishments Shine Brightly; Professor Golec Awarded \u2018Research Excellence\u2019 Honor<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finance professor Joe Golec<\/strong>, a scholar who keeps a running list of at least 100 potential research topics at all times, was awarded the School of Business\u2019 top honor this spring, its Award for Research Excellence<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile accounting professors Yanhua \u201cSunny\u2019\u2019<\/strong> Yang<\/strong> and Michael Willenborg<\/strong> earned the School of Business\u2019 Best Paper<\/strong> award for a highly regarded research paper about IPO prices. One of the reasons she chose to work at UConn, Yang said, was the value the University places on research distinction.<\/p>\n

The professors were among 13 honored with various awards at the conclusion of the spring semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur faculty are innovative in their research and teaching, and care deeply about student success,\u2019\u2019 said Sulin Ba<\/strong>, associate dean of academic and research support. \u201cThis year\u2019s award recipients amply demonstrate the level of excellence that our faculty consistently achieves.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Golec\u2019s interests are applying finance techniques and theory to healthcare and biopharmaceutical issues. During the last five years, he has had more than a dozen papers accepted and\/or published in prestigious journals, including a study of the financial impact of the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n

He and UConn finance professor Paul Borochin <\/strong>received a Best Paper\u2014Honorable Mention award <\/strong>for their research titled \u201cUsing Options to Measure the Full Value-Effect of an Event: Application to Obamacare\u2019\u2019 which measured the impact of the healthcare plan on pharmaceuticals, hospitals and insurance. They found that the Affordable Care Plan had a $55 billion impact on the healthcare sector, compared to the $16 billion that was widely reported.<\/p>\n

Always on the lookout for research ideas, Golec said he keeps a running list of research topics to consider.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I review them, I\u2019m looking for topics that can add to academic knowledge, but I\u2019m also looking for ideas where I have a competitive advantage\u2026 something new, unique and interesting others might not see,\u2019\u2019 said Golec, who has been a UConn faculty member for 16 years.<\/p>\n

Yang, Willenborg and 2015 UConn Ph.D. graduate Biyu Wu<\/strong>\u2019s paper is titled \u201cIssuer Operation Performance and IPO Price Formation.\u2019\u2019 It appeared in the December 2015 issue of the Journal of Accounting Research and concludes that underwriters are overlooking important financial information about IPOs, which could more accurately reflect the value of a start-up\u2019s publically offered stock.<\/em> Wu <\/strong>is now a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.<\/p>\n

Because the School of Business values and supports high-quality research, UConn is on the national and international map, enhancing its reputation and attracting talent, Yang said. One of the factors that drew Yang to the university four years ago was the opportunity to pursue the research that she loves, while teaching and mentoring the next generation of accounting professionals. Winning the award affirmed the decision, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think attending a major research university benefits our students, particularly those who are very advanced,\u2019\u2019 Golec said. \u201cStudents who are at the top of the class have a thirst for information that extends beyond the traditional curriculum. Because of my pursuit of research topics, I\u2019ve been able to suggest ideas for unique honors thesis topics. Research also enables professors to bring interesting ideas and examples into the classroom. It makes theories easier to grasp if you can say, \u2018This is why this is important, because this is what this company is doing.\u2019 \u2018\u2019<\/p>\n

Golec\u2019s work has been included in the Journal of Financial Economics,<\/em> the Journal of Corporate Finance<\/em> and the Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, <\/em>among others.<\/p>\n

Other awards presented at the ceremony included:<\/p>\n