Lancaster University: Professor Lorenza Rossi makes history as new LUMS Chair in Economics
Lancaster University Management School’s Department of Economics has appointed only the second female chair in its history.
Professor Lorenza Rossi joins the department after 12 years at Italy’s University of Pavia on September 1. She has a PhD from the Università di Roma Tor Vergata, and has spent the last year on sabbatical in London at Queen Mary University.
Professor Rossi brings almost two decades of research expertise in macroeconomics and business dynamism to Lancaster. She becomes Lancaster’s first female Economics chair since Professor Elizabeth Brunner, who was a leading figure in the department following her arrival in 1967, including a period as head of department.
“Lancaster is one of the top management schools in the UK, and joining the school gives me the opportunity to meet and work alongside some very good people doing research across management, business and economics,” said Professor Rossi.
“My research interests over the last five years have been concentrated on the interaction between business dynamism and macroeconomics, where Lancaster is at the forefront of research. I can see many opportunities to collaborate with colleagues working on those fields, and to help bridge between the two disciplines.”
Professor Rossi hopes her new role at Lancaster can help to inspire colleagues and students, showing that female economists can succeed in the field and in academia.
“The contribution of a woman in a high position can be to provide an example for students – not only for women, but also for men – to show them the new normal that women are in these positions,” she said.
“In Italy, I am part of a network of expert women, 100 Esperte. This is a databank of experts from different disciplines – STEM, economics and finance, international politics. We give our availability for media interviews, we organise workshops and seminars to ensure female participation at conferences and events, because it can so difficult to find women in some disciplines, but if you look you can find very good ones.”
Professor Efthymios Pavlidis, Head of the Department of Economics, welcomed Professor Rossi’s arrival in LUMS, and said: “We are delighted that Lorenza will be joining us for the start of the new academic year. We recognise the importance of bringing in different perspectives and backgrounds, and I am sure Lorenza will bring invaluable skills, insights and expertise to the department. Lorenza is following in the footsteps of one of Lancaster’s most illustrious professors in Elizabeth Brunner, and we hope there will be many more students and academics inspired by her to reach new heights.”
Professor Rossi added: “My ambition is find good colleagues to work with, and to have the opportunity to position the department highly in the research and teaching rankings. There are a lot of younger researchers I have already started to speak with, and there will be many opportunities to collaborate on teaching and research.
“I would like to bring the teaching of business dynamics into the department at PhD level and MSc level, because it is at the frontier of teaching and research and it will be very important for a business school.”