SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Ask Ed Mazze a question and 20 minutes later he’ll still be answering.

To some of his colleagues at the University of Rhode Island, it’s a character trait — Ed Mazze loves to talk.

That could be viewed as a character flaw.

Except that when Mazze speaks, he’s almost always right on target.

And that’s the main reason you’ve seen him quoted, or heard him speak, so many times in so many different forums over the years.

Sure, he loves to chat. And yes, he makes himself available.

But by drawing on his extensive experience in the real world, and a long list of academic accomplishments, he typically hits the nail on the head.

For instance:

•When I interviewed Mazze immediately after the terrorist attacks in September 2001, he said the attacks would have a lasting impact on the economy — and on the value of investments. As commerce resumes, he predicted at the time, a new way of doing business would emerge: The transport of people and goods by air, rail and water would slow, partly because planes, trucks, trains and ships would come under heightened scrutiny for security reasons.

He also urged patience. “The economy is going to rebound; it’s just going to take some time,” he said at the time.

He was right.

•The retail landscape in Rhode Island has changed dramatically. In some cases, brand names in the industry have simply disappeared. The Bradlees store chain collapsed. Lots of other firms either closed or radically restructured, including Caldor, Cherry & Webb, Ann & Hope and Apex.

In an interview several years ago, Mazze described it as part of a national phenomenon — the consolidation in almost all retail sectors. The trend, he predicted, would continue.

Right again. (The most recent sign: the Brooks chain of drug stores is in the process of being gobbled up by Rite Aid.)

•In 2002, amid the collapse of energy giant Enron Corp. and other big-name businesses, Mazze cited two key problems — corporate executives who line their own pockets and boards of directors who let them get away with it.

``Enron is the tip of the iceberg,” he predicted at the time. “There are more Enrons all over the place . . . because of bad management, ineffective directors [and] screwy bookkeeping entries.”

Mazze also forecast that many companies would be stepping forward in the years that followed to restate their financial results, as well as the values listed on — and off — their balance sheets.

Correct again.

•In February 2003, just after the tragic nightclub fire in West Warwick, Mazze said, “There’s no way that the club’s assets or the band’s assets are going to be large enough to cover the anticipated lawsuits” and the resulting claims for damages.

As a result, he said at the time, lawyers for the families involved would probably seek to broaden the list of potential defendants to include nearly every entity associated in any way with the club and the tragedy.

Eventually, he predicted, many of the cases would probably be consolidated, and the financial liability shared. And “sooner or later, everybody but the insurance companies will wind up filing” for protection from creditors in federal Bankruptcy Court.

The club’s owners did just that.

Mazze wasn’t reading from a textbook all those times; he was relying not just on his education, but also on his lengthy and varied experience.

It includes work as a federal bankruptcy court trustee, head of a bank, director of corporations and a trustee for a mutual-fund company.

His long list of accomplishments is remarkable. It is one of the reasons he was appointed dean of the University of Rhode Island’s College of Business Administration.

Mazze stepped down from the post in September. He’s 65. It’s time, he said, to get back to the classroom, where his career in education began.

In the past few months, he’s been teaching a course at Harvard University.

He returns to URI next month, to work as a professor.

In that role, he’ll be able to talk and talk, then talk some more.

His students will do well to listen carefully to everything he has to say.

Neil Downing is a Journal staff writer and author of The New IRAs and How to Make Them Work for You. Questions about your money matters? Call us at 1-401-277-7484 and leave a message, or e-mail:

moneyline@projo.com

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