About DFE

The Duke Financial Economics Center (DFE) seeks to

  • empower Duke undergrads of all majors with finance education, skills training, and networking opportunities for success in finance careers.
  • support leading edge research in financial economics and econometrics by maintaining a core group of distinguished research faculty.

DFE was established in 2010 under the directorship of Professor Emma Rasiel and Duke alumnus and Wall Street veteran John Caccavale. DFE's research faculty is headed by Research Director and Juanita & Clifton Kreps Professor of Economics Tim Bollerslev.  

Read the 2019-2020 DFE Year in Review.

Mission

Empower all Duke undergraduates, regardless of academic focus, to gain a foundational understanding of finance and enter finance careers uniquely prepared to succeed.

Vision

By leveraging Duke University’s renowned liberal arts curriculum, world-class faculty, and expansive network of alumni, parents, and industry partners, the Duke Financial Economics Center seeks to be a leader in the field of financial economics education through its pedagogical approach, co-curricular experiences, and innovative research.

Since the inception of DFE in 2010,

  • The number of finance courses offered in the Economics Department has grown more than four fold, from seven to 32.
  • The number of DFE faculty has more than doubled. Our current faculty includes five research professors, six professors of the practice, one visiting professor, and three executives in residence.
  • 780 economics majors have graduated with a finance concentration. 178 students have graduated with a finance minor.
  • Our extracurricular offerings have expanded from three programs to eight. The number of students participating in DFE extracurriculars each year started at 300 and is now 800+.
  • Our study away programs have expanded from one, Duke in New York Financial Markets & Institutions, to three. We added Duke in London Finance in 2012 and Duke in Chicago Finance in 2017.
  • Our research faculty have produced nearly 100 publications in financial economics and econometrics in the last decade. They have advised the dissertations of 20 PhD candidates.
  • DFE faculty have advised over 3,000 students on finance careers and internship recruiting.
  • At least 1,200 students who participated in DFE programs have gone into finance jobs directly after graduation.
  • Alumni and parent engagement has increased by 600%. In the 2010-2011 academic year, 53 alumni engaged with DFE. In recent years, engagement surpassed 300 across our courses and extracurricular programs.
Directors

Research Director: Tim Bollerslev, Juanita & Clifton Kreps Professor of Economics
Executive Director: John Caccavale, Executive in Residence
Teaching Director: Emma Rasiel, Professor of the Practice of Economics

DFE Faculty

Tim Bollerslev, Juanita & Clifton Kreps Professor of Economics
Connel Fullenkamp, Professor of the Practice of Economics
Grace Kim, Associate Professor of the Practice of Economics
Lawrence Kreicher, Associate Professor of the Practice of Economics
Jimmie Lenz, Irene & Frank Salerno Visiting Professor in Financial Economics
Ron Leven, W.R. Huff Professor of the Practice of Economics
​Aino Levonmaa, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Economics
Jia Li, Associate Professor of Economics
Andrew Patton, Zelter Family Professor of Economics
Emma Rasiel, Eads Professor of the Practice of Economics
George Tauchen, William Henry Glasson Professor of Economics
Chris Wedding, Gosnell Visiting Professor of Economics
Brian Weller, Assistant Professor of Economics

Executives in Residence

John Caccavale
John Forlines III
Linsey L. Hughes

Staff

Tamara Burns, Staff Assistant
Jennifer Valentyn, Program Coordinator, Sr.

The members of DFE's Steering Committee 

  • Provide counsel, valuable insights, and diverse perspectives to DFE leadership on significant matters affecting the direction of the center.
  • Facilitate engagement with finance professionals who could become resources for students and faculty.
  • Aid in setting goals and strategy for successful DFE fundraising.
Current Steering Committee Members

Chair: Meggan Kinum Zabel '93
Merrick Axel '96
Rich Copans '98
Joe Delgado '93
Kirsten Alexander Dzialga '93
Timothy Evans '14
Blake Goodner '96
Mychal Harrison '01
Beth Cohen Kojima '99
​Andy Laszlo '88
Richard Li '11
Max Lipscomb '15
Cindy Machen Marrs '84
Chuck McMullan '97
Jack Melnikoff '92
Danny O'Shaughnessy '89, P'23
Judy Wagoner Pahren '84, P'21
Rich Parisi '96
Molly Quirke '14
Warren Rabin M.B.A. '01
Robert Sharp P'21
Craig Silberberg '99, A.M. '01
Satvinder Singh P'20, P'22
Mark Taber '92
Jaime Vieser P'22, P'24
Chris Wade '09
Michael Weiner '03

DFE maintains a student advisory committee of Duke undergraduates. Meeting on a monthly basis, the committee provides a student perspective on current DFE programs, including how they can be enhanced and effectively promoted to have the widest possible reach. In addition, the input of the Student Advisory Committee is crucial in developing new DFE programming that is responsive to students’ evolving needs in their pursuit of finance education and careers. The members of the committee have all been active participants in DFE programs.

2020-2021 DFE Student Advisory Committee Members

Gianni Affi '22
Victoria Bevard '21
William Bradley '22
Emma DeRose '21
Veronica Hineman '22
Sophia Li '22
Claire Neushul '22
George Sanchez '22
Gary Zheng '22