George S. Geis, the William S. Potter Professor of Law and former director of the John W. Glynn Jr. Law & Business Program, is the inaugural Glynn Family Bicentennial Professor of Law. The professorship, endowed by John W. Glynn Jr. (Law ’65) and Barbara A. Glynn (Grad ’67), supports his distinguished scholarship and teaching.

“On a personal level, this is by far the most meaningful academic appointment I have ever received,” Geis said. “I have not really known other chair sponsors, but it has been my pleasure and privilege to spend time with John and Barbara over the past 15 years.”

After graduating from the University of Chicago Law School and the Chicago Booth School of Business, Geis spent five years as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, where he served clients on corporate strategy, mergers, marketing, and other issues. He has also worked with the law firms Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz in New York, and Munger, Tolles & Olson in Los Angeles. Geis joined the Law School faculty in 2008 and teaches contracts, corporations, accounting, and corporate finance.

His work has appeared in the Northwestern University Law Review, the New York University Law Review, the University of Chicago Law Review, the Virginia Law Review, and many other academic journals. He is also the co-author of a casebook on corporate finance and a book on business partnership and alliance strategies.

Geis received UVA’s All-University Teaching Award in 2019, and his work was named among the top 10 corporate and securities articles of 2018. Before joining the Virginia faculty, Geis taught at the University of Alabama, where he received numerous teaching awards and was selected by the student body as the outstanding faculty member in 2007. He has served as a visiting professor at the University of Chicago; the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India; and the University of Auckland in New Zealand.

The matching funds available through the University were a powerful incentive for the Glynns’ gifts, as well as their goal to keep UVA schools competitive and innovative.

“We are trying to further enhance the attractiveness of our excellent students and the Law and Business Program gives them important tools and background to make them a more competent and effective corporate lawyer,” John Glynn said.

Glynn has played a strong role at the Law School, where he served as a member of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees from 2000 to 2013 and managed the foundation’s endowment. Upon his retirement, he was elected an honorary trustee and continues to serve as an adviser to the investment committee. He is the founder and general partner of Glynn Capital Management and Glynn Ventures, a venture capital fund in Menlo Park, California. He has been active in the VC business on a national level since 1970.

An alumna of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences master’s degree program in intellectual history, Barbara Glynn is a founding member of The Tech Interactive (previously The Tech Museum of Innovation) in San Jose, California. She has been involved at the Graduate School for many years as an active volunteer and today is a College Foundation emeritus trustee, serving on its Northern California Regional Board.