While preparing for her inaugural lecture as Kogod’s new Eminent Scholar Chair in Finance, Professor Valentina Bruno did what any good economist would do—she ran a survey. She asked her former students to send back a few words that they thought describe her best, as well as notable memories from her classroom. Her students wrote back with notes about her great suits, her references to ‘Mama Fed,’ and the time she mentioned that traffic lights are only a suggestion in her home country of Italy.
Most importantly, however, the top word they described her with was ‘inspiring.’ Speaking at the January event celebrating her installation as an endowed chair, Bruno joked that this reflected the survey’s selection bias; however, the packed room she spoke to suggests otherwise. Attendees included AU’s provosts, members of the alumni board, staff and faculty, and Bruno’s daughter, as well as students past and present who had gathered to celebrate her achievements.
“We have former students who have flown in from all over the country because they love Valentina,” said Kogod dean David Marchick in his opening remarks.
Bruno is one of three professors to become an Eminent Scholar Chair after a significant gift from the Kogod family. The first, marketing professor Sonya Grier, was celebrated last November; a third Eminent Scholar Chair in Sustainability will join Kogod’s faculty in the fall of 2024. As the Eminent Scholar Chair in Finance, Bruno will be granted additional resources and support to pursue further research endeavors.
Her work so far has been groundbreaking. Bruno is a macroeconomics expert whose research has been in major academic journals, on the front page of The Economist, and at the center of a G20 meeting. Her studies of the United States dollar’s impact on a global scale skyrocketed her into international recognition, and her work is used to inform domestic and international monetary policy. As Dean Marchick recalled, she has been bold ever since leaving home to pursue a PhD in London, and her achievements reflect that boldness.
“When she broke through, she broke through big,” said Marchick.