Back in the Pack

Dr. Gary McCormick has rejoined the ranks of the tigers this year as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the Finance Department.  After completing his Ph.D in Finance from Mizzou in 2006, Dr. McCormick taught Finance at WashingtonStateUniversity and spent last year at the University of North Texas.  He returned to Mizzou this fall to pursue research with Drs. Dan French and Paul Brockman in investments and market microstructure with an emphasis in closed-end funds.  Among his many accolades, Dr. McCormick had the great privilege to present one of his most resent research papers at the China International Conference in Finance in Dalian, China this past July.  The paper entitled “Effects of Frequent Information Disclosure: The Case of Daily Net Asset Value Reporting for Closed-end Investment Companies” addresses the results of previous research conducted with Dr. Dan French, Department Chair of Finance.
 
In addition to his research, Dr. McCormick is teaching Financial Markets and Institutions as well as Investmentsfor undergraduate finance majors.  Once he has completed his stint at the University of Missouri, Dr. McCormick plans to continue his career in academia and pursue a professorship at another university.  He loves the academic world and the combination of teaching and research it offers.  He finds teaching very rewarding and likes the variation between teaching and research. 
 
What might set Dr. McCormick apart from most Post-Doctoral Finance Fellows, however, is his unique background in Computer Science.  Dr. McCormick, hailing from central Pennsylvania, earned a B.S. in Computer Science in 1984 from LockHavenUniversity and a Masters Degree from VillanovaUniversity in the same field in 1989.  When he started his first job in information technology he could not have been more satisfied.  “I loved it,” he declares.  “I thought that job was made for me.”  He continued his technical career by opening his own consulting service, and from 1992 until 2001 he conducted his business completing IT work for such companies as Morgan Stanley and Dun and Bradstreet.  His career took a turn, however, when after 15 years Dr. McCormick discovered that he was more interested in the financial aspects of his work than information processing.  While this was surely a loss to the technical world, the Finance Department could not be happier to welcome him and his experience back to Mizzou.

Last Edited: 4/22/2009