Faculty

Professor Garvis joined the W&L faculty in August 1998; he has served as the Business Administration Department Head since August, 2006. He was appointed Ehrick Kilner Haight, Sr. Term Professor in 2009. In his time in the Williams School he has taught Strategic Management, International Operations Management, Management & Organizational Behavior, E-Commerce Management, and Applied Statistics. His prior professional experience includes the practice of law in the areas of business failure and corporate bankruptcy.

Recent research by Professor Garvis has focused in two areas. First, his corporate governance research has investigated the effects of firm size in the governance-performance relationship. In addition, in collaboration with Professor Lyman Johnson of the Washington and Lee School of Law, he has empirically studied the practices of inside counsel in giving fiduciary duty advice to corporate executives. Second, his research into learning and teaching with instructional technologies, conducted with Professor Robert Ballenger of the Williams School, uses server data to empirically examine patterns of online learning styles. Previous research by Professor Garvis has included examination of entrepreneurial collaboration and business bankruptcy. As a graduate student in the Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, Professor Garvis was awarded the Suojanen Research Excellence Award. He has also received research and service awards from the North American Management Society and the Academy of Management. He is a member of the Academy of Management and the Academy of Legal Studies in Business.

Professor Garvis has been active in a variety of community activities, including prior service as a Den Leader for Cub Scouts, Campus Campaign Coordinator for the local United Way, tenor in the Trinity United Methodist Church Choir, and tubist for the Rockbridge Community Orchestra. He lives with his wife, Natalie, and their three children, Haley, Mike, and Sydney, in Lexington.