vidhi chhaochharia

I have been a university professor since 2007, and I'm currently an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Miami in the Herbert Business School, a position I've held since 2013. My journey into academia began with my PhD in economics with a concentration in finance from Cornell University. My first job was at the World Bank around 2005, where I worked in the finance research group on policy-related finance topics because I was very interested in policy. When the opportunity at University of Miami came up, it seemed like a great place to make the switch from the policy world into the academic world, and I never looked back. It worked really well for me because I didn't want to work in the corporate world - I really wanted to work in policy and then more academic settings where I could work on research and have access to teach students. It's an exciting place to be, especially because you have the freedom of doing the research that you want to work on, and I think that's really valuable. My day-to-day involves teaching in the MBA program, undergraduate program, and PhD program, along with unstructured research time that goes towards working on journal articles in finance. Beyond teaching and research, I have significant administrative responsibilities - I'm currently the PhD coordinator for Finance, chair of the Budget and Compensation Committee at the university level, and I serve on the Faculty Senate. I don't think there's one notable achievement that defines my career. Every time we have a top finance article published, that feels like a notable achievement because there's literally blood, sweat, and tears that go into each article. When I get feedback from students three or five years later about something I taught in class and how it's helping them now, those are feel-good moments, small highs. And when I can help make real changes for faculty or my friends and peers in the university, those also feel like wins. There are many small wins that make up for a big win.