Violeta Díaz, Ph.D.

Ph.D., The University of Texas-Pan American, 2011
M.S., EGADE Business School (Monterrey Tech), 2004
B.S., ITESM (Monterrey Tech), 1999

Violeta Díaz is Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Finance at the Greehey School of Business. Díaz is an award-winning researcher with 20 years of teaching experience. She is the Faculty Advisor for the $3.7 million Student Managed Fund and teaches Investments and Seminar in Finance. Prior to joining St. Mary’s University, she was Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University for five years where she led the banking program and taught varied undergraduate and graduate courses. Before earning her Ph.D. in Finance from The University of Texas-Pan American, she taught at Monterrey Tech in Monterrey, Mexico.

Her recent scholarly work has been published in top journals in her discipline, such as the Journal of Banking and Finance, Managerial Finance, and Financial Research Letters. She has presented her research at the Financial Management Association (FMA), the American Economic Association (AEA), and other major academic conferences in the U.S. and abroad. She frequently serves her profession as a reviewer for academic conferences and peer-reviewed journals. At St. Mary’s, she serves as the faculty advisor for the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and the St. Mary’s Investments Club.

Díaz regularly mentors students and prepares them for finance competitions, internships, and graduate school. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion and being a role model, not only to her students, but also to her lovely daughters, Teresa and Mercedes.

Diaz, V., Ibrushi, D., and Zhao, J.. (2021). Reconsidering Systematic Factors During the Covid-19 Pandemic – The Rising Importance of ESG. Finance Research Letters (38).

Diaz, V., Sankaran, H., Ayer, S. R. (2018). The Information Content of an Increase in Federal Funds Rate from a Zero Lower Bound Environment. Managerial Finance (2), 257-277.

Diaz, V., Huang, Y. (2017). The Role of Governance on Bank Liquidity Creation. Journal of Banking and Finance, 77, 137-156.

Diaz, V., Hales, A. D. (2015). Issuing Level 2 vs. Level 3 ADRs: Do Country Characteristics Matter? Journal of International Business Research, 14(2), 67-74.

Sankaran, H., Diaz, V., Espinosa, S. (2013). The Structure and Estimation of Bi-National Bonds as a Mechanism to Finance the Strategic Infrastructure in the US-Mexico Border Region. Journal of Structured Finance, 19(2), 71-88.

Diaz, V., Soydemir, G. (2013). Regional Foreclosures and Mexican Remittances: Evidence from the Housing Market Crisis. North American Journal of Economics and Finance, 24(1), 74-86.

Diaz, V. (2012). The Effect of Liberalization on Banking Efficiency: Evidence form the Five Largest Banks in Mexico. North American Journal of Finance and Banking Research, 6(6), 27-38.

Distinguished Faculty Award, St. Mary’s University, 2020
Best Paper Award, Southwestern Finance Association, 2016
Jentz Fellowship, Graduate Banking School at the University of Colorado at Boulder, 2014
Outstanding Junior Research Award, New Mexico State University, 2014
Dissertation Session Panelist, American Economic Association, 2011