Zhongdong Chen (Ronnie) entered the doctoral program in Finance in Fall 2007 and expects to receive his degree in May of 2011. He received his undergraduate degree in international economy and trade from Sichuan University and the master's degree in finance from the same university in 2007. He is experienced in teaching and research projects, two of which were financed by the Chinese government. Ronnie's experience at the University of Tennessee includes teaching Financial Management (FIN 301). His areas of interest are Asset Pricing, International Finance, Investments and Derivatives.

Karen Craig entered the Finance doctoral program in Fall 2008. Prior to joining the program, Ms. Craig worked as a nuclear engineer for fifteen years. She has a broad range of experience in the nuclear and decommissioning industries where she specialized in decontamination and decommissioning. She also spent time at various operating nuclear power plants and Department of Energy sites. Ms. Craig obtained her MBA from the University of Missouri in 2005, which acted as a stepping stone to the pursuit of her doctorate at the University of Tennessee.

Alireza Ebrahim entered the doctoral program in 2007. He holds a B.S. in Materials Engineering from University of Tehran, M.S. in Systems Engineering from Institute for Research in Planning and Development and M.A. in Economics from Vanderbilt University. During his graduate school training, he studied the relationship between financial development and economic growth/development and won the Most Outstanding Thesis Award upon graduation from Vanderbilt University. His professional experience includes several years as a Financial Analyst at National Investment Company of Iran and Consultant at Deloitte and Touché LLP. Ali’s primary research areas are corporate governance, international finance and debt markets. He also teaches financial management (FIN 301) for the College of Business Administration.

Tianning Li expects to receive the PhD in December of 2009. He has an MS in Information Systems from Marshall University (2002) and a BA in English from Dalian University of Technology in China (1998). His areas of interest are Corporate Governance, Financial Institutions, Investments, Experimental Finance, Market Microstructure, and International Finance. He has taught courses in Corporate Finance, Financial Institutions, Investments, and Capital Markets while at the University of Tennessee. His dissertation focuses on "Managers' Wealth, Incentives and Risk Preferences." Tianning is also working with Cary Collins and John Wachowicz on a paper entitled "The Announcement Effects of the Creation of Islamic Market Indices." Tianning began an assistant professor position at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, fall semester, 2009. For more information, please see his resume at link. 

Victoria Messman entered the doctoral program in Finance in Fall 2004. Prior to moving to Knoxville, Vickie earned an MBA degree with an emphasis in finance and a BS degree in polymer science from the University of Southern Mississippi. Upon completion of those degrees, she worked as a project specialist for the university’s Workplace Learning and Performance Center and completed a certification program in training and development. She taught International Trade and Finance (Economics 336) at Southern Miss and managed a computer-based survey relating to health economics. During the 2005-2006 school year, Vickie was an instructor for Integrated Process Management (Business Administration 353) and completed the Best Practices in Teaching Program at UT. Currently, she teaches Financial Management (Finance 301).

Kathryn Schumann (Kayti) entered the doctoral program in Finance in Fall 2007 and expects to receive her degree in May of 2011. She received undergraduate degrees in business and communication arts from Lincoln Memorial University in 2003 and an MBA from East Carolina University in 2005. Prior to entering the University of Tennessee, she worked for Bank of America, Wells Fargo Financial and Tusculum College. Additionally, Kayti worked as an adjunct professor at LMU teaching Project Management. Kayti’s experience at the University of Tennessee includes teaching Financial Management (FIN 301, 300) and Integrated Process Management (BA 353). Her areas of interest are Corporate Governance, Ethics, and International Finance. Kayti won the 2009 CBA Graduate Teaching Award.

Laura Seery Cole received both an undergraduate degree in finance and an MBA in management information systems from Auburn University. Prior to joining the University of Tennessee ’s Finance Ph.D. program in fall of 2003, Laura was a full-time instructor of business at Macon State College, where she designed an online course which is still part of the curriculum. Laura’s experience at the University of Tennessee includes teaching Financial Management and International Corporate Management. Laura’s primary research interests are corporate finance and governance, and she is co-author of a paper entitled “Do Board Members Pay Attention When Institutional Investors ‘Just Vote No’?” with Tracie Woidtke and Diane DelGuercio, which was published in The Journal of Financial Economics and presented at the 2006 WFA conference. Laura’s personal interests include her role as a representative for the finance department on the Graduate Senate Council, membership of the National Hispanic Student Association (HOLA), and volunteering for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Race for the Cure Series. Laura received the 2006 Chancellors for Professional Promise and the 2006 CBA Graduate Teaching Award, and was one of four recipients (out of 150 nominations) to receive the 2007 Chancellor’s Extraordinary Graduate Teaching Award. Laura has accepted a lecturer position with the UT Department of Finance, effective January 2009, and is also the Director of the Investment Learning Center at the University.

Joshua White graduated summa cum laude and as Top Collegiate Scholar from the University of Tennessee where he majored in finance. He joined the M.B.A. program at UT where he was a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Finance, a portfolio manager for the Haslam Torch Fund, and a Knoxville Chamber Ambassador. His professional experience includes several years as a finance and sales manager in the automotive industry, including positions with a small corporation and a Fortune 500 company. He also interned with the Department of State at the American Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus, and as a financial analyst with Eastman Chemical Company. Joshua is entering the finance Ph.D. program at UT based on his passion for finance and desire to impact the discipline of finance through research and learning. His research interests include corporate governance, supply chain finance, and financial modeling and his goal is to become a professor of finance at a research university.