Following the untimely passing of Denis Gromb in October 2022, the Financial Intermediation Research Society (FIRS) established an Award in his honor and memory (see FIRS’ tribute to Denis). Denis was an insightful scholar, who served as a Director and President of FIRS. He was also exceptionally generous in helping others, especially junior colleagues and doctoral students, and a role model for outstanding citizenship in the profession.
The Denis Gromb Award for Outstanding Citizenship in Financial Economics is meant to recognize people who, like Denis, selflessly strive to make the profession better through their mentorship, leadership, dedication, and academic citizenship. The Award, along with a cash prize of $5,000, will be given biennially (see the 2024 award winner).
Call for Nominations
| Eligibility Criteria Recipients of the Award should have displayed the academic citizenship qualities for which Denis Gromb was well known within the financial economics profession. Specifically, recipients shall be recognized for fostering a research and work environment that is collaborative, unifying, and principled through, for example: – their commitment to create positive externalities for members of the profession – their disposition to generously contribute time and effort to help their peers, and to go above the “call of duty” to help others in the profession – their willingness to engage in and stand for initiatives that have important and significant welfare implications for the profession at large – their mentorship of students and faculty in the field of financial economics – their disposition to lead by example – their overall dedication to the profession. Current members of the FIRS Board of Directors are ineligible for the Award. Nomination Process Nominations can come from one person or from a group of people. Likewise, nominees can be an individual or a group of people. It is not required that the nominators or nominees be associated with FIRS in any capacity, or that the nominee’s contribution be related to FIRS. Self-nominations are not accepted. A nomination requires at least the following documentation: – A nomination letter, not exceeding three pages in length, describing the nominee’s contribution, especially as it relates to their citizenship in the financial economics profession. – The nominee’s professional Curriculum Vitae. – Nominations can be accompanied by any relevant supporting materials, including letters of support from individuals who are familiar with and/or have benefitted from the nominee’s academic citizenship. Nominations should be emailed to denisgrombaward2026@gmail.com, with all the necessary documentation as attachments. The deadline for submitting a nomination is November 20, 2025. Award Announcement The winner of the 2026 Award will be announced at the FIRS Conference in Miami on May 28 to 30, 2026. |
Donations
The Award has been funded by a host of people who support the idea of recognizing outstanding citizenship in the finance profession, including financial economists who have directly or indirectly benefited from Denis’ exemplary citizenship, as well as students, friends, and family of Denis. The goal is to raise $50,000 and, thanks to the generous support of many, to date FIRS has raised over $41,000 towards this goal.
If you would like to help recognize outstanding citizenship in the finance profession by supporting the Award, you can contribute using the PayPal link below. Donations of any amount are welcome. Please note however that your donations are unfortunately not tax-deductible. We thank you for your generous support of this important initiative to foster a collegial, collaborative, and supportive atmosphere in our profession, and at the same time commemorate our dear friend Denis.
