By: Tim Wilmes
The Xavier community mourned the losses of two professors in the Williams College of Business this December, with the passing of marketing professor Dr. Chris Manolis on Monday, Dec. 9 at age 49 and finance professor Dr. Philip Glasgo on Monday, Dec. 23 at age 66.
A faculty member since 2002, Manolis was found dead in his home by wife Mary Beth. At the time of his passing, Manolis was teaching three marketing classes, and he is survived by his wife and three daughters Verena, Molly and Elsie.
Chair and associate professor of economics Dr. Amit Sen, who began working at Xavier the same year as Manolis, described his longtime neighbor, friend and colleague as a born and raised Northern Californian who always had a deep love for the sea line, swimming, music, playing guitar and a unique interest in old BMW’s.
Sen remembers Manolis as a man with integrity and filled with love for life and for others.
“He was very friendly. He was very good at his work. He was not the type of person who was selfish or self-absorbed: he was very much a family man,” Sen said.
Along with teaching at Xavier, Manolis was a well-renowned researcher and known particularly for his work on the American Dream Composite Index with colleagues Sen and Dr. Greg Smith of the Information Systems Department.
“Chris was an excellent teacher, won numerous awards for research and exceeded expectations through his service to the students and the university. He will be and is sorely missed,” chair and professor of the marketing department Dr. Thomas Hayes said.
Although his death was sudden and came as a shock for many in the Xavier community, colleagues and students remember Manolis well for his upbeat attitude and seemingly constant laughter.
“That’s exactly the image of Chris: he always had a smile,” Sen said. “I’ve never seen him upset, I’ve never seen him angry, and I’ve never seen him not try to get a laugh out of people around him.”
Glasgo, who taught at Xavier since 1984, passed away after being trapped by an overturned ATV on his property in Guilford, Ind. Family members found Glasgo after he did not return for a few hours from a trip to check fencing on his property.
Survived by his wife Dana and two daughters, Glasgo taught undergraduate and graduate finance courses at Xavier for 30 years and spent 12 years at the University of Cincinnati. The longtime professor was also a National City Bank employee and a U.S. Army Air Defense Artillery Officer before his days of academia.
According to his daughter’s report to Cincinnati.com, Glasgo had finished grading final papers and examinations for the semester the night before, and told his family he was “on top of the world” before leaving to look over his property.

Although the passing of the two Xavier professors came unexpectedly, family members, colleagues and students can find solace in the way that Glasgo and Manolis lived their lives.

“He was always very outspoken about how wonderful a life he had lived,” Dr. Blair Glasgo said of her father to Cincinnati.com. “This is how he would have wanted to go: quick and at the peak of his health.”
“He’s had a good life. He was successful in what he did. I think he had gotten closer to his parents in recent years, and I think he was close to his sister as well. Even though it was short, he lived life to the fullest,” Sen said of Manolis.
You must be logged in to post a comment.