Assistant Professor Peter McGraw of the University of Colorado at Boulder's Leeds School of Business has been named one of the nation's top young scholars by the Marketing Science Institute.
One of only 30 recipients of the biennial honor given to faculty members early in their careers for being potential leaders in the field of marketing research, McGraw also was the only recipient in the Rocky Mountain region. He is the second CU-Boulder professor to be recognized -- Associate Professor Page Moreau of the Leeds School of Business received the honor in 2003.
McGraw studies human emotions, decision-making and consumer behavior. One of his major research areas is understanding people's emotional and behavioral reactions to marketing and business principles making their way into what he calls "sacred" domains such as higher education, religion, health care and "death care."
For example, he has started a project to investigate how the reluctance to think about the "value" of a deceased loved one can make consumers susceptible to predatory sales practices when purchasing funeral services.
McGraw also co-directs the Judgment, Emotion, Decision and Intuition Lab at CU-Boulder with Leaf Van Boven, an assistant professor in CU-Boulder's psychology department. McGraw joined the Leeds School of Business faculty in 2004.
The 30 scholars met in early January in Park City, Utah, to present ideas and cultivate opportunities for collaborative research in the future.
Established in 1961 and located in Cambridge, Mass., the Marketing Science Institute is a nonprofit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between business and academia.