Richard Spurgin
Associate
Professor of Finance
 A Faculty Recognized for Research. "I was looking for a small university with a liberal arts "feel" and a top-flight business school -- a rather unusual combination. There are very few places around that can fulfill both of those criteria, and Clark is one of them," explains Richard Spurgin when asked what drew him to the Clark University Graduate School of Management. Now in his fifth year on the GSOM faculty, Spurgin is proud to be among some of the top scholars in his discipline. When you’re interviewing for faculty positions at a school," he says, "you’re always interested in the publication records of the faculty who are already there. So, after I interviewed here with Maurry Tamarkin and Joe Golec I did a little homework and found they both have phenomenal publication records. I’ve since learned that’s typical of the GSOM faculty; just about everybody here is near the top of their field."
Focus on Students. Spurgin feels that the small size of the Clark program offers significant advantages for students as well as for faculty. "There’s a whole different emphasis here than at a larger school, meaning that our business school faculty can devote a lot of time and energy specifically to the MBA
and MSF programs. Whereas a typical faculty member in a large university might teach one
graduate course a year, most of us teach four. We get to know the students very well. I frequently have students twice sometimes even three times during their program, and that’s important to me. I like the opportunity of working with someone for not just 14 weeks, but over the course of a couple of years."
The international composition of the student body is another plus for Spurgin, whose father’s career as an American diplomat brought the family to various countries during Spurgin’s childhood. "I’m an American, but I spent more time in Thailand than in the U.S. as a youngster, so being here with people from many different cultures is a lot of fun for me. I’ve especially liked working with a number of our students from Southeast Asia, and I think the students enjoy that connection, too."
Spurgin feels that Clark’s international emphasis provides a particularly valuable dimension for finance students. "If you visit the Wall Street trading rooms and research operations, you meet people from all over the world. The professional finance community has a global focus, and I think that Clark GSOM students are well served by the international emphasis in our program."
With an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College, Spurgin
got an early start in the finance community, where he worked for several years, earning a position as head of fixed income research at a bond interest rate forecasting firm. At age 30, he decided to attend graduate school at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He has maintained consulting relationships with a number of clients since that time and still views himself as a finance professional. "I’m just as likely to attend a professional conference as I am to attend an academic conference," he says. "And when I am at a professional conference, I’m there as a scout. I want to find out what’s hot and why certain skills are in demand. Then, I bring that information back and incorporate it into my classes, so my course material tends to change every semester, in response to the trends of the finance community. I’m also interested in researching problems that challenge the professional finance community. It all comes together very nicely."
Creating a Real-World Experience. Spurgin’s close ties to the finance community are a real boon for his students. "I think it’s very important to help students who are looking for a job by advising them about how to present themselves for interviews, by talking with them about internships, and by making phone calls on their behalf," he says. "I feel that this is all part of my mission here." Spurgin also attempts to provide his students with a classroom experience that is as close as possible to a real-world experience: "I treat them as I would treat other finance professionals."
Richard Spurgin likes his job. "I enjoy being here at Clark because I am naturally curious, and I am very interested in investments and finance. My job here enables me to go wherever my curiosity takes me, whether that involves teaching, or consulting, or research." Clark GSOM students, who voted Spurgin Teacher of the Year in 1996, appreciate his enthusiasm. "I think they know that I enjoy what I’m doing, that I like being up there in front of the classroom, that I’m interested in the subject matter, and that I really want them to grasp it and go on to utilize it professionally. It’s a lot of fun."
|
 |
|
Faculty Resources
|
|
|
|
You may also be interested in:
|
|
|
Professor William Mosher
|
|
