For his exceptional commitment to others and his profession, Professor Michael Gallmeyer was recently chosen to receive McIntire’s 2022 Whit Broome Faculty Service Award. Since he began teaching at McIntire in 2009, Gallmeyer, the Consumer Bankers Association Professor, has become integral to many crucial areas in the life and success of the Commerce School.
Endowed by Commerce Professor Emeritus Whit Broome, the award acknowledges faculty for exemplary community and professional service. Gallmeyer was selected by the Dean’s Office in coordination with the School’s Area Coordinators. He is the second faculty member to receive the award, which was first given to Professor Andrea Roberts in 2021.
In the Service of Many
Associate Dean for Faculty and Research and Professor Ryan Wright says that McIntire faculty continue to be impressed with Gallmeyer’s high level of support in serving the Finance Area, the Commerce School as a whole, the University, and the profession.
In addition to chairing and serving on many committees, Wright notes, Gallmeyer serves as Director of the Center for Investors and Financial Markets (CIFM), coordinates the Quantitative Finance Track, advises Global Commerce Scholars and student organizations, collaborates extensively with the School’s Alumni Engagement and Advancement colleagues, manages data and research resources across McIntire, and has engaged with the Virginia Department of Education about their high school mathematics curriculum. He has also been instrumental in contributing to the UVA Investment Conference and the Finance Seminar Series, as well as offered noteworthy contributions to finance conferences, association meetings, and key editorial positions.
Gallmeyer says that earning the award has been a humbling experience and “a great honor to continue the work that McIntire faculty like Whit started.”
Broome, who joined UVA in 1967 and served as interim Dean, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Director of Graduate Studies, and Accounting Area Coordinator, was motivated to endow the award because of the fulfilment he experienced serving the community and the accounting profession.
For Gallmeyer—outside of teaching—he finds that creating and shepherding along the Quantitative Finance Track has been especially rewarding. “It opened another set of opportunities for our Finance students beyond an investment banking path,” he says, noting that serving as CIFM Director “has also been gratifying to help deliver as many research resources as possible to my colleagues.”
An Institution Builder
McIntire Professor and Finance Area Coordinator David Chapman, who nominated Gallmeyer for the annual honor, believes that Gallmeyer “is an institution builder in every sense of that term,” pointing out his unparalleled formal service roles within the School. Citing Gallmeyer’s strong leadership as CIFM Director during a time of great many changes, Chapman notes that his colleague served on the search committee that brought Dean Nicole Thorne Jenkins to Grounds, chaired the most recent faculty search for the Finance Area, and acted as a “major force in rationalizing McIntire’s research databases.”
But he contends that Gallmeyer’s many informal service commitments set him apart and make him an excellent choice for the award.
“He serves as a mentor to a variety of UVA undergraduate and graduate students both inside and outside of McIntire,” Chapman says. “He has also been a key player in working with the McIntire Advancement team in support of its critically important efforts.”
Associate Dean for Advancement Katie Whittier, who has benefited from Gallmeyer’s dedication, says, “Mike is always willing to help the cause. From his involvement in fundraising and engaging alumni from Charlottesville to New York City and, indeed, around the world, he serves as an advocate of our work. Mike has been a great strategic partner who’s consistently there to support us.”
Futureproofing and Fostering
Gallmeyer has proven himself to be a steadfast ally of with those representing the entire McIntire community by collaborating with staff, supporting his faculty peers, working with alumni, creating opportunities with other schools at the University, and, perhaps above all, helping students of all stripes.
“I am always amazed to see our students flourish. My own education has brought me so much in life. I cherish being able to pay it forward,” he says. “One of the most amazing things about our job is to see our students once they have left McIntire. I recently had a few of my past students speak to my M.S. in Commerce class. I was utterly floored by what they are doing now. It is amazingly special to be a small part of that growth.”
As the Commerce School enters into its second century, Gallmeyer’s service to so many aspects of McIntire will undoubtedly help to realize its promise in the years ahead; he hopes that in all aspects, it continues to grow as an institution capable of advancing the lives of many.
“Fostering a community of diverse and innovative faculty, staff, and students will serve us well in the future,” Gallmeyer says. “I look forward to being part of that with the rest of the McIntire community.”
