Nataliya Zaiats, PhD

Biography

Dr. Zaiats is the Assistant Chair and an Associate Professor of Finance. She earned her Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, a diploma (M.A. equivalent) in International Finance and English Interpretation from Franko National University of Lviv and a B.A. in Economics from Hartwick College.

Dr. Zaiats's current research spans a multitude of topics in the area of corporate governance, corporate finance, and empirical investments/asset pricing. Within these broad areas, her studies can be classified into one or more sub-areas such as executive compensation, firm-level corporate governance, mutual fund governance, dual class ownership structure, earnings management, dividend policy, mergers and acquisitions, cash holdings, and short selling. Her dissertation focused on agency conflicts and effects of regulations on corporate governance and won the 2007 Sheldon B. Lubar Doctoral Scholarship, a reward of an outstanding research performance in the Ph.D. program. Among others, she has published in the Journal of Banking and Finance and the Journal of Corporate Finance, both top-tier finance journals, which are ranked among the Top 10 finance journals.

In the classroom, Dr. Zaiats is dedicated to providing students with a deep understanding of corporate finance, investments, financial institutions, capital markets, international finance, and microeconomics. She integrates her research insights into her teaching to prepare students for success in a dynamic financial landscape. 

Publications

Recent Intellectual Contributions

• "Ethical Leadership in Climate Action: Navigating National Government Intervention, Financial Constraints, and Corporate Decarbonization" with Lilian Ng, Xiaoqiong Wang, and Jing Yu, Journal of Business Ethics, 2025, 1'31, DOI: 10.1007/s10551-025-06195-3.
• "Existing methods provide unreliable estimates of the marginal value of cash", with Joe Halford, John McConnell, and Val Sibilkov, Critical Finance Review,13(3-4), 2024, 305-349.
• "Short seller attention" with Rui Dai and Lilian Ng, Journal of Corporate Finance 72, 2022, 102149.
• "Do short sellers anticipate late filings?" with Rui Dai, Ting Li and Rey Zhao, Journal of Corporate Finance 69, 2021, 102045.
• “Corporate governance and firm value at dual class firms,” with Ting Li, Review of Financial Economics 36, 2018, 47-71. SSRN Top Ten List
• “Dividend policy and earnings management across countries,” with Wen He, Lilian Ng, and Bohui Zhang, Journal of Corporate Finance 42, 2017, 267-286. SSRN Top Ten List. FMA Top Ten Session/Top 5% Paper
• “Information environment and earnings management of dual class firms around the world,” with Ting Li, Journal of Banking and Finance 74, 2017, 1-23. Lead Article. SSRN Top Ten List

Awards and Honors

• Best Reviewer Award, Asia-Pacific Journal of Financial Studies (2019)
• Suffolk SGA Teaching Award Nominee (2016)
• Sheldon B. Lubar Doctoral Scholarship, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2007)
• GoldStar Teaching Awards, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2005–2006)

Professional Activities

• Faculty Advisor, CFA Research Challenge
• Committee Member, Finance Capstone Revision Committee
• Reviewer for leading finance journals, including Journal of Banking and Finance and Journal of Corporate Finance
• Member of multiple finance associations, including the American Finance Association and European Finance Association

Professional Memberships

• American Finance Association
• European Finance Association
• Financial Management Association International
• Eastern Finance Association
• Southern Finance Association