Media contact: Yvonne Taunton
Regions Institute for Financial Education Endowed Professor Stephanie Yates, Ph.D., has been named chair of the Department of Accounting and Finance in the UAB Collat School of Business. The University of Alabama at Birmingham Collat School of Business has named Regions Institute for Financial Education Endowed Professor Stephanie Yates, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Accounting and Finance.
“Dr. Yates is an exceptional teacher-scholar who has demonstrated tremendous leadership in the school and in her discipline,” said Eric P. Jack, Ph.D., dean of the Collat School of Business. “It says a lot that our accounting and finance faculty voted unanimously to support her appointment as chair, and I am confident that, under her leadership, the Department of Accounting and Finance and its programs will reach new heights.”
Yates joined UAB in 2007 from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she served as a clinical assistant professor. In 2014, she was named inaugural director of UAB’s Regions Institute for Financial Education, which provides year-round financial programs and services, and serves as a model for financial research and education in the Southeast and beyond. In 2016, she was named the Regions Institute for Financial Education Endowed Professor.
“It’s an honor to be named chair of the Department of Accounting and Finance,” Yates said. “I am thrilled to be taking the lead during such an exciting time as we seek renewal of our accounting program’s accreditation and update our accounting and finance curricula. Our department has a first-class faculty and staff, and I am excited to continue to work alongside my colleagues to enhance our programs and champion our department in the business community.”
As a leading financial expert, Yates often appears on local news programs educating the public on personal finance and budget models and explaining the financial implications of current issues and events. She is well-versed in topics of personal finance and real estate. Yates co-wrote “Residential Land Values and Walkability,” which analyzed over 5,000 property transactions in Jefferson County, Alabama, and found that land values increase with walkability. Her current research includes analyzing the intersection of financial and social inclusion and its impact on financial markets.
Yates earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, an MBA in accounting and a master’s degree in international economics from the University of Cincinnati. She earned her Ph.D. in finance from Louisiana State University in 2004. She is an Accredited Financial Counselor® and a Certified Financial Planner™.
Named one of the Birmingham Business Journal’s Women to Watch in 2020, Yates has received numerous awards for her contributions. In 2016, she received the UAB President’s Award for Diversity, and in 2017, she was awarded the A.G. Gaston Community Service Award. She currently serves on the advisory boards for Alabama Asset Building Coalition, GEAR UP Alabama, GEAR UP Birmingham, Junior Achievement of Alabama, Single Mothers Empowerment Conference, Steel Magic Theatre, Terrific New Theater, TruFund Financial Services, and UAB Campus Access and Campus Engagement. Yates also serves as national president of Alpha Sigma Gamma; an international real estate honorary society sponsored by the American Real Estate Society and serves as faculty adviser of UAB’s Real Estate Society.