Gies Faculty Profile – Julia Fonseca

Assistant Professor of Finance Julia Fonseca has been teaching at the Gies College of Business since 2019. Her work has garnered attention from such prestigious journals as the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Financial Economics, as well as media outlets like the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR.

Her areas of expertise are household finance, development finance, and labor and finance, with a focus on financial development, consumer financial markets, and inequality. Reflecting on her teaching experience, Fonseca says what she enjoys most about her students is that “They’re focused on real-world applicability of what they learn.”

Fonseca says her passion for finance and path into academia was set early in her academic journey, when she was earning her Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton. Now she can’t imagine another life for herself. “I can’t see myself doing anything else,” she says.

Her students describe her as energetic and clear in her teaching. Her vision for the future of business education: bringing in more diverse perspectives and stronger mentorships.

“I’m grateful for many things,” Fonseca tells Poets&Quants. “My family and friends. My job. All the support I receive from the College and from my colleagues.”

Title: Assistant Professor of Finance

At current institution since what year? 2019

Education: Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton

Professional bio, highlighted awards/achievements:

Julia Fonseca is an Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research interests include household finance, development finance, and labor and finance. Her research focuses on topics like financial development, consumer financial markets, and inequality. Her work has been published in the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Financial Economics and cited in media outlets such as the Economist, the Wall Street Journal, and NPR.

List of courses you currently teach: FIN 321 (Advanced Corporate Finance)

TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR

I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when… I knew early on I wanted to be an academic and started gravitating toward finance (as opposed to other fields in economics) as a second-year Ph.D. student.

What are your major research interests? Household Finance, Finance and Development, Labor and Finance.

What are you currently studying? Topics including the effect of higher interest rates on mobility and labor market outcomes and how individuals use different types of credit, such as credit cards, mortgage loans, payday loans, or small business loans, to smooth fluctuations in their overall access to credit.

What is the most significant discovery you’ve made from your research? If I weren’t a business school professor… I’m not sure. I can’t see myself doing anything else.

What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? As a researcher, I think I have a unique perspective. In the classroom, what my students point to in my evaluations is that I’m energetic, clear, and very effective in answering their questions.

One word that describes my first time teaching: Challenging (COVID hit in the middle of my course)

Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor:
Professor I most admire and why: I admire my colleague Heitor Almeida for managing to be both an outstanding researcher and also an award-winning instructor.

TEACHING GIES STUDENTS

What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? They’re focused on real-world applicability of what they learn.

What is most challenging? Conveying the applicability of the material we cover.

In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Curious

In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Uninterested

When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as… Fair (at least that is what they say in my evaluations)

LIFE OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM

What are your hobbies? Spending time with my family, reading, exercising.

Favorite book(s): Age of Innocence (Edith Wharton), Dom Casmurro (Machado de Assis), Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen).

What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? I haven’t had time to watch much TV since 2020, when my daughter was born. I now also have a baby boy, so I have even less time.

THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS

If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this… a range of different perspectives from people who care about mentoring the next generation of professionals and scholars.

In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at… finding and fostering talent.

I’m grateful for… many things. My family and friends. My job. All the support I receive from the College and from my colleagues.

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