Toronto – A finance professor who is a leading researcher of mutual funds, asset management and the role of financial institutions in capital markets with a track record as an innovator in management education will be the next Dean of the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
Susan Christoffersen, who currently holds the William A. Downe BMO Chair in Finance and is co-academic director of the TD Management Data and Analytics Lab at the Rotman School, has been appointed by the University of Toronto to a five-year term as Dean beginning on July 1, 2021.
“Professor Christoffersen’s dedication to student success and excellence has been exemplary – and her leadership, vision, and passion for interdisciplinary approaches to research and education will be key to Rotman’s continued success in the years ahead,” says Prof. Cheryl Regehr, U of T’s vice-president and provost.
Prof. Christoffersen joined the Rotman School in 2010 after spending more than a decade as a faculty member at Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University. She holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Queen’s University and a master’s degree from the University of British Columbia and earned her PhD in finance at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
In her role as Vice-Dean, Undergraduate & Specialized Programs at the Rotman School from 2015 to 2020, she provided the leadership and energy to both re-invent undergraduate education and build three new pre-experience specialized programs. The Master of Financial Risk Management (MFRM), Graduate Diploma in Professional Accounting (GDipPA) and Master of Management Analytics (MMA), were launched in quick succession as a key part of the Rotman School’s growth. She was also a driving force behind the redesign of the Master of Finance program (MFin) as well as the fundamental transformation of the Rotman Commerce program including a curriculum restructuring and the more than doubling of resources including space and staff dedicated to the program, in partnership with the University’s Faculty of Arts and Science.
“I’m absolutely thrilled and excited about the prospect of leading Rotman at this stage,” says Prof. Christoffersen. “I obviously have a strong connection to the school, having just finished a vice-dean role, and am incredibly humbled and honoured to be selected as dean. “There is enormous talent amongst our students, staff, and faculty, and I really look forward to the next five years of new opportunities and growth.”
In addition to her work as Vice-Dean, she also founded and contributed to the growth of the TD Management Data Analytics Lab, an important hub of activity for advancing the School’s research and teaching in the field of data analytics.
Her research focuses on mutual funds and the role of financial institutions in capital markets. She has published in top finance journals and been cited in The New York Times, Bloomberg News, and The Wall Street Journal. She has received numerous honours for her work, including research grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and research awards from the Bank of Canada, Swiss Finance Institute, and Q-Group among others.
The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global centre of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.
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For more information:
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
Voice 416.946.3818
E-mail mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca