LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 20, 2026) — The University of Kentucky’s Gatton College of Business and Economics is welcoming new full-time faculty members whose expertise will strengthen teaching, research and student learning across the college.
The 2026 new faculty cohort brings experience from universities, industry, government and global business settings. Their areas of expertise include audit regulation, data analytics, behavioral finance, crypto regulation, corporate finance, organizational behavior, stakeholder engagement, consumer well-being and more.
In the Von Allmen School of Accountancy, new faculty include:
Jade Chen, assistant professor, whose research interests include audit regulation and human capital management in audit firms. Her teaching interests include data analytics, accounting information systems and auditing.
Maia Kelton, visiting lecturer, whose teaching interests include managerial and cost accounting, financial accounting and financial statement analysis. She brings prior experience from Texas Christian University, Tarrant County College, ExxonMobil, Miller Coors and Vought Aircraft.
Lauren Milbach, clinical assistant professor, whose teaching interests include financial accounting, managerial accounting, accounting information systems and accounting theory. Her prior experience includes Mississippi State University, the University of Missouri, SEMCO LLC and KPMG audit.
Jason Rasso, clinical assistant professor, whose teaching interests include financial accounting, managerial and cost accounting, and fraud and forensics. His prior experience includes the University of South Carolina, the College of Charleston, the IRS and the U.S. Border Patrol.
Karl Schuhmacher, assistant professor, whose research interests include performance measurement and evaluation and incentive compensation. His teaching interests include managerial and cost accounting.
Paul Wong, assistant professor, whose research interests include analysts and nonprofits. His teaching interests include financial accounting.
In the John Maze Stewart Department of Finance and Quantitative Methods, new faculty include:
Andrew Conlin, lecturer, whose research interests include behavioral finance and household finance. His teaching interests include behavioral finance, investments and corporate finance. He brings prior experience from Aalto University, the University of Oulu, the U.S. Peace Corps in Vanuatu and Robert W. Baird.
Lain Garrett, lecturer, a UK graduate who brings extensive industry experience from Bloomberg, where he served as head of U.S. regulation, market structure and U.S. Treasury trading. He also brings more than 20 years of experience in New York City and 10 years in London trading government bonds.
Kevin Mei, assistant professor, whose research interests include corporate finance, banking and crypto regulation. He previously worked for Boston Consulting Group.
In the Department of Management, Thomas Lyttelton joins as an assistant professor. His research interests include informal social interactions, politics in and around firms, organizations, hiring and inequality. He brings prior experience from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
In the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain, Colleen Harmeling joins as professor. Her research interests include stakeholder engagement theory, consumer well-being, healthcare decision-making, relationship dynamics, customer experience design and morality in business-to-business and consumer markets.
Together, these faculty members reflect Gatton’s continued investment in academic excellence, applied research and student-centered teaching. Their work will contribute to the college’s mission of preparing principled leaders for business and society while advancing research that reaches across disciplines and industries.
For more information about Gatton College faculty and academic programs, visit gatton.uky.edu.
