We'd like to welcome our new faculty. Read below to get to know them better.
John Aland, Visiting Assistant Professor
AREAS OF INTEREST: Financial institutions, financial reporting, equity crowdfunding, voluntary disclosure.
RESEARCH: "My research looks at the behaviors of traditional and non-traditional financial institutions. As an auditor, I developed a deep understanding of the banking industry that has helped inform my research focused on the behavior of these institutions. As I looked more into these institutions, I also developed an interest in how firms fund their operations when traditional sources of financing aren't available, which led me to equity crowdfunding. It has been really interesting getting to make connections with people in the equity crowdfunding industry, and helping to contribute to our overall knowledge about the democratization of financing for startup firms."
Ilona Bastiaansen, Assistant Professor
AREAS OF INTEREST: Corporate disclosure (mandatory & voluntary), market efficiency, financial distress and bankruptcy.
RESEARCH: “When I was young, my life was profoundly impacted by the financial collapse of the family business. One of the contributing factors to the bankruptcy was the lack of financial acumen of the people involved in the business. This personal experience has been a driving force behind my dedication to instructing in the field of accounting and conducting research related to corporate bankruptcy.”
Lauren Vollon, Visiting Assistant Professor
AREAS OF INTEREST: Structuring of private M&A contracts and VC investors; disclosure regulation, equity ownership and liquidity.
RESEARCH: “In my research, I study how (unequal) access to financial information affects capital markets and contracting. Proper information flows between firms and external stakeholders are a necessary condition for any market to optimally function. Inequality among stakeholders in the access to information and in the ability to process information is an important impediment to information dissemination and thus ultimately to economic development. It is then also a great pleasure for me to teach financial accounting to a broad range of college students and help them become critical users of financial information."