Experts

Robert Bruner

Fast Facts

  • Dean Emeritus of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia
  • Author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books on finance, management, and teaching
  • Expertise on financial crises, bank panics, enterprise leadership 

Areas Of Expertise

  • Economic Issues
  • Finance and Banking
  • Jobs and Economy
  • Taxation
  • Trade
  • Governance
  • Leadership

Robert Bruner, faculty senior fellow, is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Virginia, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Business Administration, and Dean Emeritus of the Darden School of Business. He has also held visiting appointments at Harvard University and Columbia University, INSEAD in France, and IESE in Spain. He is the author, co-author, or editor of more than 20 books on finance, management, and teaching. A faculty member since 1982, he has won leading teaching awards at the University of Virginia and within the Commonwealth of Virginia. His current fields of research and teaching include financial crises, the relationship between democracy and capitalism, and the leadership attributes of U.S. presidents.

As a financial economist, Bruner is best known for his research on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and financial panics. His books Deals from Hell and Applied Mergers and Acquisitions have helped numerous practitioners and students toward successful transactions. His book published in 2008, The Panic of 1907: Lessons Learned From the Market's Perfect Storm, with Sean D. Carr, attracted wide attention for its discussion of the underpinnings of financial crises. In 2011, Bruner led a global task force of deans for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business that produced a comprehensive review of global management education. The resulting book-length report, The Globalization of Management Education, urged educational leaders to rise to the challenges of globalization. He is the author and co-author of more than 300 teaching case studies and of Case Studies in Finance, now in its eighth edition. He comments on life, business, and current events in his blog

As the eighth dean of the Darden School from 2005 to 2015, Bruner chartered or led a series of initiatives that strengthened the faculty and academic programs, raised the profile of admitted students, improved diversity in the Darden community, raised more than $165 million in new funds, and saw Darden's rankings rise to the top 10 of U.S. business schools. In 2011, Poets & Quants and CNNMoney/Fortune named him "Dean of the Year."

A native of Chicago, Bruner received a BA degree from Yale University in 1971 and MBA and DBA degrees from Harvard University in 1974 and 1982, respectively. 

For more information and copies of his papers and essays, visit his website.

 

Robert Bruner News Feed

We study the association of shareholder returns with liberalization in government policy during Britain's railway run-up of 1844–5. The findings sustain two main claims. First, the railway returns during the run-up were associated with the advent of liberalizing policies, especially related to free trade, enhanced transparency and governance of firms, and industry consolidation. Second, analysis of cross-sectional variation reveals higher returns to large railways in the South and Midlands of England, several of which were leading consolidators. This study is the first to report an association between policy liberalization and run-up returns and to identify consolidators as the prime beneficiaries of the liberalization.
Robert Bruner, Scott Miller Financial History Review
Leading up to the Miller Center’s 50th anniversary in 2025, this conference shares new ideas and best practices to support a more responsible and effective presidency.
Miller Center Presents
Bruner came to Darden and stayed for 41 extraordinary years.
Poets & Quants
Financial crises shape societies, overturn governments, and alter the course of history. Simply put, crisis is the one constant of capitalist economies. Out of the ashes of the Panic of 1907—the first worldwide financial crisis of the twentieth century—Congress sought to moderate financial storms by creating the Federal Reserve in 1913. Drawing on lessons from history and modern monetary policy, a panel of experts considers the emergence of the Federal Reserve and its role in fighting the societal tumult that flows from financial instability, highlighting the staggering power of "the Fed" and its place in a democratic society.
Robert Bruner Miller Center Presents
In the last seven days, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – best known by its initials, FDIC – took over two banks a country apart after customers ran to get their money out in fear of their imminent closure. The federal takeover has fueled fear among some that the failures are precursors to something akin to the Great Recession, when 450 banks failed between 2008 and 2012. To find out what happened, why and what’s next, UVA Today turned to David C. Smith, the Virginia Bankers Association Professor of Commerce at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, and Robert F. Bruner, dean emeritus of UVA’s Darden School of Business and a senior fellow at the Miller Center for Public Affairs.
Robert Bruner UVA Today
“At the height of a market boom, those appeals work more easily than they do in times like we are presently entering,” said Robert Bruner, Compton Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia's Miller Center and author of the book 'Deals From Hell.'
Robert Bruner NY Times