Sue Culpepper.Sue Culpepper has replaced Lauren Templeton as director of UTC's Galtere Institute: Finance for the Future Initiative, according to university officials.
Templeton left UTC in December "to more fully devote herself to her hedge fund," Cindy Carroll, assistant director of the Office of University Relations, wrote in an email.
Culpepper, a 30-year banking veteran, is known for breaking the glass ceiling at SunTrust and its corporate predecessor, American National Bank. There, she became the first woman promoted to the rank of executive vice president.
SunTrust later acquired the bank. Culpepper left SunTrust this year as the bank moved key wealth management personal to other markets.
"The industry of finance seems to be a very male-dominated field, so encouraging women to continue to pursue those careers is quite important," Culpepper said Thursday.
The Galtere Institute is dedicated to the relatively young study of behavioral finance, as advocated by primary backer Renee Haugerud, founder and chief investment officer of investment firm Galtere Ltd.
"She provided that funding to provide the emphasis on the trading and investing side, but this will open up all types of avenues for both men and women in the field of finance," Culpepper said.
UTC is one of the few institutions that teaches behavioral finance, which examines the differences in how women and men trade securities. Women tend to buy and hold, while men buy and sell more impetuously, theorists say.
During her tenure, Templeton taught that female brains release a similar chemical when they buy a stock as when they nurture a child, encouraging them to hold the stock through price fluctuations that would drive a man to sell.
"Whether students stay here or go somewhere else, it will provide them with a great basis in the business world," Culpepper said.