Meet Dr. Susan He:
New Finance Faculty Member, WSU Vancouver
By Sue McMurray
Drawing from her own experiences as a doctoral student and her acute knowledge of econometrics—the use of statistical and mathematical models to describe economies—He will help sophomore students become skilled in spreadsheets, data visualization, and decision analysis. She’ll teach juniors and seniors about financial institutions and intermediation processes, as well as conduct her own research in finance and insurance.
“I’m excited to work with a different group of students and very friendly colleagues at WSU Vancouver,” says He. “Teaching at WSU Vancouver will bring new challenges, yet I’ll still be able to enjoy the same comforts and sense of community that I love about WSU.”
“We are thrilled to have Dr. He join our faculty,” says Jane Cote, the Carson College’s academic director at WSU Vancouver. “Her commitment to students is a great fit for us, and her research insights will benefit the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area as we navigate a changing economy.”
Expertise contributes to growing research efforts on how culture influences business decisions
An accomplished researcher, He has published 12 papers and is currently collaborating on three working papers relating to risk, culture and reinsurance demand, and how national culture influences business decisions.
As she was looking into cultural influences on corporations, He says she selected the insurance industry for her research because it’s highly regulated, making company comparisons more relevant. She focused on risk-taking in the insurance industry for her WSU thesis. She discovered U.S. cultural traits generally are associated with higher levels of corporate risk for insurance companies, compared to traits of other international cultures, such as Japan, that promote less corporate risk-taking.
Her work contributes to a growing contingency of researchers who are starting to delve into how a country’s culture affects decision-making in corporate boardrooms.
“Susan brings a great perspective and an exceptionally strong background to her research and teaching,” says David Whidbee, chair of the college’s Department of Finance and Management Science. “We’ve enjoyed having her in the Ph.D. program, and we know that she will be a great addition to our Vancouver faculty.”