Caitlin Dannhauser, PhD, ’05 VSB, Named Inaugural Vincent B. ’88 and Nicole DiDomenico Jr. Endowed Senior Research Fellow in Finance
¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą, Pa., March 1, 2025 - Caitlin Dannhauser, PhD, ’05 VSB, has been named the inaugural Vincent B. ’88 and Nicole DiDomenico Jr. Endowed Senior Research Fellow in Finance. Her appointment will begin in Fall 2025.
“I am honored to be named the first Vincent B. '88 and Nicole DiDomenico Jr. Endowed Senior Research Fellow in Finance,” said Dr. Dannhauser. “The DiDomenico family’s generosity and commitment to the future of the University, particularly its research initiatives, is truly inspiring. This support provides invaluable resources, enabling me—along with future recipients—to contribute meaningfully to the continued growth and success of the Finance department’s research reputation.”
“Dr. Dannhauser is an excellent fit for this role and we know she will make the DiDomenico family very proud,” said Wen Mao, PhD, the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of the ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą School of Business. “With her reputation for exceptional research, teaching and service at VSB, I am confident that her work will positively impact our entire academic community.”
She joined ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą in 2015 as an assistant professor in Finance, returning to her alma mater where she majored in Finance and co-majored in International Business. She previously held the Michelle and Sean Traynor ’91 Assistant Professorship, ceding the position in 2023 when she received tenure and was promoted to associate professor. She currently serves as one of the department’s associate chairs.
She received her PhD in Finance from the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. Prior to pursuing her PhD, she worked in the Equity Sales and Trading department at Credit Suisse and earned her CFA® Charter.
Her research interests are in the areas of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), institutional investors, and empirical asset pricing and her current research focuses on the impact of ETFs on corporate bond microstructure, the role of price insensitive passive demand on corporate bond issuances, the impact of passive funds in the mutual fund family complex, and the flow-performance relationship across different investment vehicles.
Dr. Dannhauser’s work has been published in the Journal of Financial Economics and the Review of Financial Studies. She has presented her research at international, national, and regional conferences and academic institutions, as well as to policy-oriented organizations such as the New York Federal Reserve Board, the Investment Company Institute (ICI), and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). She also serves on the Board of Directors as treasurer for the Four Corners Center for Research on Index Investing. Dr. Dannhauser is the recipient of VSB’s Research to Practice Award (2021), and the Thomas J. Carmody Jr. Faculty Award (2024) which recognizes a faculty member’s efforts to promote the integration of teaching, theory and practice. 
This fellowship was made possible by a generous gift from Vincent B. ’88 and Nicole DiDomenico Jr. P’21 ’24 ’27. DiDomenico is the founder and managing member of Delta Equity Management, developers of commercial real estate in the New Jersey and New York Metropolitan area. He graduated from VSB with a degree in finance and later earned his MBA from the Gabelli School of Business at Fordham University.
The ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą School of Business (VSB) undergraduate program is top-ranked among business schools in the nation. Its online graduate business programs are ranked #28, and its part-time MBA program is ranked #25 by U.S. News and World Report. VSB has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to five Centers of Excellence – the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Elenore and Robert F. Moran Sr. Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights and the Center for Church Management – with each designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and applied opportunities for students. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business. For more, visit business.villanova.edu.
About ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą University: Since 1842, ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, ¸ĚéŮÖ±˛Ą supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.