Florida State University

The College of Business

Department of Finance

Rovetta Business Bldg. #522

821 Academic Way

Tallahassee, FL 32306-1110

Phone:  (850) 645-1521 

E-mail: gcolak@cob.fsu.edu
SSRN Author ID = 329865

• Education

Ph.D. in Finance, The University of Iowa, May 2004
M.S. in Economics, The University of Iowa, 2001
B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Bilkent University, Turkey, 1998

• Areas of Interest

Corporate Restructuring, Initial Public Offerings, Financial Econometrics, Investments, Liquidity Demand.

• Experience

Assistant Professor, Department of Finance, Florida State University, August 2007-present.
Assistant Professor, FREDS Departments, Wichita State University, August 2004-May2007.
Instructor, Department of Finance, The University of Iowa, August 2003-July 2004.
Teaching Assistant, Department of Finance, The University of Iowa, 2001-2003.
Research Assistant, Department of Finance, The University of Iowa, 1999-2000.             
Research Assistant, Department of Economics, The University of Iowa, 1998-1999.

• Professional Affiliation

Member of American Finance Association (AFA)
Member of Financial Management Association (FMA)
The Society for Financial Studies (SFS)

• Publications

  • “Spin-offs, Divestitures, and Conglomerate Investment,” with Toni M. Whited, Review of Financial Studies 20 (2007): 557-595.

  • “Cycles in the IPO Market,” 2007, with Chris Yung and Wei Wang, Journal of Financial Economics 89 (2008): 192-208.

  • “Diversification, Refocusing, and Firm Value,” 2008, forthcoming in European Financial Management.

• Presentations

  • "Idiosyncratic Risk, Short Sale Constraints, and Other Market Frictions in IPO Stocks"

    • EFMA Conference in Athens, June 2008.
    • FMA Europe Conference in Prague, June 2008.
    • Koc Finance Conference, May 2008.
    • University of Southern Florida, March 2008.
  • "Cycles in the IPO Market"
    • SUNY Buffalo, February 2007.
    • Florida State University, January 2007.
    • George Mason University, January 2007.
    • "Top-Ten Percent" session, FMA Conference in Salt Lake City, October 2006.
    • University of Kansas, September 2006.