Wharton's interdisciplinary research centers provide a forum for Wharton and Penn faculty and students, as well as members of the business community, who come together to study and debate key business challenges. Their work generates courses, academic programs, community outreach, published research, and partnerships among academics, government, and industry.
The following research centers illustrate Wharton’s ongoing commitment to the financial services industry and those employed in it.
Financial Institutions Center
Technology, regulatory changes, and globalization are revolutionizing the financial services industry. The Financial Institutions Center is dedicated to addressing the many important issues that result from these changes in the industry. Through coursework and communications designed for academics, financial practitioners, and policy makers, the Center helps industry members and students of financial services keep pace with the changes that affect their lives and their work. Visit the Financial Institutions Center's website.
Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research
Through a wide range of financial research, a working paper series, a reprint series, and a highly respected annual seminar, the White Center has established itself as an important source of information to the financial community. Members have the opportunity to participate in groundbreaking financial research, and the Center provides a number of research grants to Wharton faculty members each year. Visit the Rodney L. White Center for Financial Research's website.
Weiss Center for International Financial Research
Information is the key to evaluating risks and seizing opportunities in our global financial marketplace. The Weiss Center is the world's first research center devoted exclusively to an understanding of international finance. By sponsoring research on markets, financial instruments, and global economics, the Center enhances the understanding of this complex subject for both current and future financial managers. Visit the Weiss Center for International Financial Research's website.
Center for Human Resources
Since 1921, the Center for Human Resources (formerly the Industrial Research Unit) has been bringing academics and practitioners together, fostering interaction through multidisciplinary research, regular meetings, and frequent information bulletins. Today, the Center continues to explore the strategic role of human resource management in areas such as labor relations, increased productivity, public policy, work and family issues, and workforce education. Wharton's Council on Employee Relations is the Center's program for management/employee issues. Visit the Center for Human Resources's website.
Risk Management and Decision Processes Center
Low-probability events with potentially catastrophic consequences, such as natural and technological hazards and industrial risk, are the chief concerns of this Center. Through a program of descriptive research (exploring how people interact and make decisions regarding risk) and prescriptive analysis (proposing ways that people and groups can make better risk-related decisions), the Center investigates the effectiveness of incentive systems, insurance, regulation, the communication of risk information, and other strategies. Visit the Risk Management and Decision Processes Center's website.
Pension Research Council
The Pension Research Council sponsors interdisciplinary research on the entire range of private pension and social security programs, as well as related benefit plans in the United States and around the world. Council projects are motivated by a need to address the long-term issues that underlie contemporary concerns and seek to broaden public understanding of these complex arrangements through research into their social, economic, legal, actuarial, and financial foundations of privately and publicly provided benefits. Members of the Council's Board, appointed by the Dean of the Wharton School, are leaders in the employee benefits field. Visit the Pension Research Council's website
Center for Leadership and Change Management
Increasingly, organizations worldwide are confronting turbulent markets, demanding shareholders, and discerning customers. As a result, many firms are restructuring to meet these challenges. Their success depends largely on the quality of leadership that exists at all levels of management. Dedicated to building a basic and practical understanding of leadership and change, the Center explores and communicates effective strategies for restructuring. Visit the Center for Leadership and Change Management's website.
SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management
The SEI Center seeks to identify and understand trends in management practice and their impact, and to design and implement research programs to meet the future needs of management. The results will provide both educational material for faculty and guidelines for corporate action. The Center conducts a series of workshops, conferences, and lectures for the exchange of knowledge and information to gain a better understanding of how successful enterprises will be organized and managed in the 21st century and what these corporations should do today to prepare themselves. Visit the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management's website.
Wharton Communication Program
The need for future business leaders to be effective communicators has never been greater: speeches, web casts, blogs, podcasts, media interviews, interactions with NGOs, contentious shareholder meetings, etc., all offer new opportunities — and risks. Our practical, skills-based approach helps participants develop their personal style and strengthen their confidence as communicators. Courses vary by semester, but include Communicating to Investors, Writing for Business Audiences, and Impromptu Speaking and Communicating Under Pressure. Visit the Wharton Communication Program's website.
