College of Business and Economics

Faculty Spotlight: Linda Yu, Finance and Business Law

July 11, 2019

Written by Julie Woletz | Photo by Nicholas Pook

Linda Yu currently serves as department chair of the Finance and Business Law Department. She began teaching at State University of New York Polytechnic Institute, where she worked for two years. Linda was then hired at UW-Whitewater in 2004.

She currently teaches FNBSLW 735 Business Valuation,* which she believes many students perceive to be difficult because it has the word “finance” in the description. She believes those students who can set aside their fear of being “bad at numbers” and who can concentrate more on applying common sense to solving business problems will actually succeed at and enjoy the course. Linda’s research focuses mostly on corporate governance, socially responsible investing and equity market anomalies.

Linda also serves on the board of the Chartered Financial Analyst Society. She is the only female on the board, and believes it is important for different perspectives to be shared, not only in the CFA, but in any organization.

Linda especially enjoys interacting with students, as well as faculty. If you get a chance to meet her, you will immediately recognize that she enjoys people and has a great deal of energy. She mentions that part of what she enjoys about her job is that she gets to learn new things while teaching others. When asked what skills professionals in her area need to be successful, she replied, “determination.”

She states that you don't have to be a math guru and a genius to be successful in finance, or in any field for that matter. She believes the major difference between someone who is successful, and someone who is not, is whether a person quits trying. She also stated that, "you are halfway to success as long as you dress up and show up.”

*Please note that the faculty teaching specific courses are subject to change.