Rodrigo Verdi

Rodrigo Verdi

he/him
Sloan School of Management
There for students

In their academic journey, a graduate student can count oneself incredibly lucky to find a strong mentor. In the accounting specialty at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Rodrigo Verdi’s support is well known and deeply appreciated.

“Rodrigo’s dedication to mentoring and his unwavering support have positively impacted every student in our group,” one student praised.

Professor Rodrigo Verdi is the Deputy Dean of Degree Programs and Teaching and Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Verdi’s research provides insights into the role of accounting information in corporate finance decisions and in capital markets behavior. 

Strong commitment to students

Rodrigo has been active in the majority of the Sloan students’ research journeys. He makes sure to assist students even if he does not directly guide them. One student states that “although Rodrigo is not my primary advisor, he still goes above and beyond to provide feedback and assistance.”

Verdi says that “an appetite for experimentation, the ability to handle failure, and managing the stress along the way” is the kind of support necessary for especially innovative research.

Another student recounts that they “cannot think of a single recent graduate since [they] started the PhD program that did not have Rodrigo on their committee.” This goes to show how much students value his efforts, and how much he cares about their success.

Since his arrival at MIT, he has shown a strong commitment to mentoring students. Despite his busy responsibilities as an Associate Dean, Rodrigo remains highly accessible to students and eagerly engages with them. 

Specifically, Verdi has been interacting with more than 90% of recent graduates over the past 10 years, contributing significantly to the department’s strong track record in job placements. He has served on the dissertation committee for 18 students in the last 15 years, which represents nearly all of the students in the department.

A student remarked that “Rodrigo has been an exceptional advisor during my job market period, which is known for its high levels of stress.” He offered continuous encouragement and support, making himself available for discussions whenever the student faced challenges. 

After each job market interview, Verdi and the student would debrief and discuss areas for improvement. His insights into the academic system, the significance of social skills and networking, and his valuable advice helped the student successfully get a faculty position.

Rodrigo’s mantra is “people won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

Collaborative culture

Verdi has made a lasting impact on the culture of the accounting specialty and is a critical component of the collaborative culture found in the Sloan school. One of his students praised this saying “the collaborative culture is impressive: I’d call it a family where faculty and students are very close to each other.” They described that they “share the same office space, have lunches together, and whenever students want feedback, the faculty is willing to help.” 

Verdi has sharp research insights, and always wants to help, even when he is swamped with extra administrative affairs. He stays at the office for a long time and his door is always open. 

Another mentee said that “he has been organizing weekly PhD lunch seminars for years, online brown-bags among current and previous MIT accounting members during the pandemic, and more recently the annual MIT accounting alumni conference.” Verdi also takes students out for dinner or coffee, caring about how they are doing outside of academics. The student commended “I feel lucky that Rodrigo is here.”

“Our accounting department has been thriving over the past 20 years, becoming arguably the most popular place for both faculty and PhD students,” a student comments. Rodrigo is one of the pieces of the puzzle, “always advocating collaboration and friendship.”