(Davis, CA)—Professor Brad Barber, an internationally recognized expert in behavioral finance, asset pricing and investor psychology, has been named the first recipient of the Maurice J. and Marcia G. Gallagher Chair in Finance.

An endowed chair is one of the highest honors that can be bestowed in academia. It provides critical funding for research activities and has a direct influence on the contribution the Graduate School of Management can make to the business world and to management education.

“I am honored and humbled to receive the chair as so many of my faculty colleagues are themselves distinguished scholars deserving of such an honor,” Barber said. “I hope to use the generous donation of the Gallagher Chair to improve the scholarly environment at the GSM.”

The chair, which is supported by a $1 million endowment, was made possible as part of a $10 million gift to the Graduate School of Management by the Gallaghers, which also named the School’s new campus building. The Gallagher Fund was established in support of the highest priorities and opportunities for the School. Seeing the need to attract and retain top talent in one of the most competitive and important fields of study, Dean Nicole Woolsey Biggart created the chair to advance research and provide leadership in the area of finance.

Barber, who joined the faculty in 1990, is director of the UC Davis Center for Investor Welfare and Corporate Responsibility, which he founded to advocate for improved corporate practices, educate investors through research and outreach, and better prepare MBA students for today’s business world. Students have appreciated Barber’s expertise and approach, naming him “Teacher of the Year” four times for courses in introductory finance and financial theory and policy.

Barber’s pioneering research, which has won several “Best Paper” awards, has appeared in top academic publications, including the Journal of Finance, Journal of Financial Economics, Review of Financial Studies, Journal of Political Economy, Quarterly Journal of Economics, American Sociological Review, Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis and the Financial Analyst Journal. He is a regular speaker at academic and industry conferences.

The benefits of the chair have already allowed Barber to hire a research assistant as he continues his work on the psychological biases of individual investors.

“I am devoting much of my time to developing a simulation of outcomes when citizens are required to manage their own retirement assets, such as what we can expect if we move from the current Social Security system to private retirement accounts,” Barber said. “I am also trying to understand why so many investors day trade in many stock markets, including Taiwan, China and Korea.”