Rate My Professor Mike Shafer

Michael T. Shafer is an Associate Professor of Finance and the Acting Chair of the Finance Department at Providence College, located in the Ryan Center for Business Studies. He holds a Ph.D. in Finance from Syracuse University, with his dissertation titled "Option Trading around Corporate Events." Prior to that, he obtained an M.S. in Economics from the University of Delaware, where his thesis focused on "Municipal Government Revenue Forecasting: A Case Study of Dover, Delaware," and a B.A. in Mathematics and Economics from SUNY Potsdam.

Shafer's academic interests center on corporate finance, including option trading around corporate events, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices in relation to corporate class action litigation risk, perceived tail risk, the determinants of open interest in option markets, and the financial and tax considerations associated with social security and early retirement. Over his career, he has contributed nine scholarly works, comprising eight peer-reviewed articles and one review article. Notable publications include "Corporate class action litigation risk and the choice of environmental, social, and governance practices" accepted for publication in Applied Economics in 2026 (co-authored with Marcin Krolikowski, James Malm, and Edward Szado); "The determinants of open interest in option markets" published in the Financial Review in 2022 (with Jeffrey H. Harris); "The financial and tax considerations of social security and early retirement" in the Journal of Wealth Management in 2021 (with Stephen Kuselias and Stephen J. Perreault); and "Environmental, social, and governance practices and perceived tail risk" in Accounting and Finance in 2020 (with Edward Szado). Shafer's excellence in teaching has been recognized with the Greene Family Award for Teaching Excellence in 2015 and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence in 2018 from the Providence College School of Business.