Rochester, N.Y.—August 16, 2007—The Simon Graduate School of Business along with the entire University of Rochester community is mourning the loss of Michael J. Barclay, 50, of Rush, N.Y., a longtime member of the Simon School finance faculty, who died Thursday in a seaplane crash along Empire Boulevard in Penfield near Irondequoit Bay. The University flag on the Eastman Quadrangle will be lowered to half staff on Friday, August 17, in his memory.
"All of us at the Simon School are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic accident," said Dean Mark Zupan. "Mike was a world-class scholar and a supremely gifted teacher, having been, among other things, rated among the top business school instructors in the world by BusinessWeek. He was also a wonderful human being and friend. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Laura, and to his family. His warmth, generous spirit, passion for his students and scholarship and able mentoring of junior faculty will be genuinely missed and always treasured in our hearts and memories."
University of Rochester President Joel Seligman expressed his sympathy on behalf of the University community. "This is a terribly saddening loss for the University," Seligman said. "Mike was a great talent. To lose him at so young an age makes this so much harder for his colleagues and students."
A native of Wisconsin, Barclay came to the Simon School in 1985 after completing his Ph.D. in economics at Stanford University, and he later was appointed Alumni Distinguished Professor of Business Administration; professor of finance and area coordinator of finance. His research in corporate finance, the role of large-block shareholders in public corporations and market microstructure has appeared in a variety of scholarly journals, including The Journal of Finance and the Journal of Financial Economics. He served as an advisory editor of the Journal of Financial Economics and as an associate editor of three other journals.
After 10 years of teaching, Barclay took a leave of absence to spend the 1995-96 academic year teaching at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, where he was a finalist for the Helen Kardon Mars Anvil Award for outstanding teaching. He was honored with 11 Simon School M.B.A. Superior Teaching Awards, and in October 1994, he was ranked by BusinessWeek as one of the top 12 business professors in the world. He has served as the chairman of the Nasdaq Economic Advisory Board and as an expert witness in cases involving securities litigation, financial market operations and antitrust economics. Barclay earned his B.A. degree in economics summa cum laude from Colgate University.
"I've had the privilege of working with Mike Barclay since he joined the Simon School in 1985," says Clifford W. Smith Jr., a senior member of the Simon School finance faculty. "Mike was an exceptional colleague, an influential scholar, an inspiring teacher, an effective administrator and most importantly, an extraordinarily nice person."
Barclay is survived by his wife, Laura Thurner; his parents and his family. A memorial service at the University of Rochester is being planned, and more details will be announced as they become available.