A career in research, academic leadership, and teaching

Complementing his scholarly accomplishments, Professor Wang has extensive experience in executive and faculty leadership. As Associate Dean of Professional Graduate Programs at Smith, he led a $70 million portfolio consisting of 13 graduate and executive programs and a multidisciplinary team of approximately 65 professional staff. He designed and implemented a portfolio-wide strategic plan that strengthened integration across governance, curriculum, recruitment, technology, and operations. As a member of the Dean’s Academic Leadership Team, he conducted annual merit and performance reviews of faculty and contributed to faculty recruitment, recognition, and advancement. His leadership emphasizes shared governance and broad stakeholder engagement. He has assembled faculty-led teams to develop and redesign academic programs, sought input from faculty, students, and program advisory boards, and guided major initiatives through formal Faculty Board and university-level approval processes.

His leadership has also focused on institution building. He founded the Renmin–Queen’s Master of Finance program in Beijing, growing enrollment from 17 students in its inaugural cohort to 120 in its 12th year and annual revenue by approximately 1,300%. He launched the Smith School of Business Alumni Association in China, helping build a regional alumni community of more than 1,000 while cultivating alumni engagement and philanthropy. He also led a faculty-staff team to develop Smith’s Online MBA program, expanding access to flexible graduate education. He has built and strengthened strategic partnerships with leading universities and organizations, including Cornell University, Peking University, HKUST, and the Canadian Olympic Committee.

Beyond the university, Professor Wang has taken on leadership roles spanning academia, professional practice, and public policy. He serves as Vice President of the Financial Management Association and holds editorial appointments at three finance journals. He has also led fundraising and corporate engagement for the Northern Finance Association. During COVID-19, he served on the Large Corporations Committee of the Bankruptcy & COVID-19 Working Group, contributing policy proposals to the U.S. Congress and Senate on bankruptcy-court capacity and financing.