Michael Anthony Gross

In Loving Memory of Professor Michael Anthony Gross 

May 28, 1963 – July 25, 2026

Professor Michael Anthony Gross, beloved teacher, internationally respected scholar, and cherished friend, passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, July 25, 2026, at the age of 63. Michael lived a life guided by purpose, generosity, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to helping others learn and grow. His influence reached far beyond the classroom, touching students, colleagues, friends, and scholars around the world.

Born on May 28, 1963, in Los Gatos, California, Michael was the fourth of five children. From an early age, he possessed an extraordinary combination of intelligence, imagination, warmth, and humor. His family recalls that by the age of ten, Michael had already discovered his life's calling: he wanted to be a teacher. That conviction never wavered. Whether he was writing plays, performing in school productions, debating ideas, playing the saxophone, competing on the swim team, or serving as student body president and valedictorian at Trevor G. Browne High School in Phoenix, Michael approached every endeavor with enthusiasm, creativity, and a desire to bring people together. He also carried throughout his life a deep affection for dogs, whose companionship brought him great joy.

Michael earned his Bachelor of Science in Communication from Arizona State University in 1988 before completing a Master of Arts in Communications Management at the University of Southern California's Annenberg School of Communication. He returned to Arizona State University to earn his Ph.D. in Communication in 1998, laying the foundation for a distinguished academic career devoted to understanding negotiation, conflict management, emotion, and human relationships.

In August 2000, Michael joined the Department of Management in Colorado State University's College of Business, where he spent the next twenty-five years inspiring students and advancing scholarship. Promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2006 and to Professor in 2016, he became one of the leading voices in negotiation and conflict management. His research appeared in esteemed scholarly journals, and he held numerous leadership positions, including Editor-in-Chief of Negotiation and Conflict Management Research, Chair of the Conflict Management Division of the Academy of Management, and, most recently, the Division's Scholar in Residence. His scholarship took him to Columbia University, the University of Waterloo, Queen's University, and London Business School as a visiting scholar. In 2020, he expanded his passion for teaching by creating an international podcast on negotiation and conflict management that reached listeners around the world.

Michael's research was marked by originality and intellectual courage. He was an intrepid scholar whose work frequently broke new ground and encouraged others to see negotiation and conflict through new lenses. His final years reflected the same spirit of innovation that had defined his career, including interdisciplinary collaborations and international recognition. Among his final honors was an Outstanding Conference Poster Award at the Interdisciplinary Network of Group Researchers (INGRoup) 2026 annual conference, shared with collaborator Dr. Mara Waller, for their research on emotional incongruence in negotiating teams.

Yet for all his scholarly accomplishments, teaching remained Michael's greatest passion. Over twenty-five years at Colorado State University, he taught more than fifty sections of Negotiation and Conflict Management, along with courses in organizational behavior, human resource management, negotiating globally, and the Executive MBA program. His excellence in teaching earned him the Colorado State University Alumni Association Best Teacher Award, the College of Business Outstanding Teaching Award, and recognition from CSU Parent and Family Programs.

More important to Michael than any award were the lives of his students. He treasured the emails and letters he received each year from graduates who described negotiating their first job offers, resolving workplace conflicts, and applying lessons they had learned in his classroom. Even during recent health challenges, Michael refused to let his students down, teaching classes from his hospital room when he could. That extraordinary dedication reflected the calling he had discovered as a child and faithfully lived throughout his life.

Michael's generosity extended throughout Colorado State University. He served for nearly two decades on the University Grievance Committee, chaired faculty searches, served as the College's Equal Opportunity Coordinator, and contributed extensively to the Department of Management's Promotion and Tenure Committee. Colleagues knew him as thoughtful, humble, intellectually generous, and unfailingly kind. Students knew him as a professor who believed in them, challenged them, and celebrated their successes long after graduation.

Michael is survived by his brother, Ronald Gross, and his sisters, Christine Gross, Shanti Shanti Khalsa, and Millie Gross (Stefanie Hofmann), as well as many extended family members, dear friends, former students, and colleagues whose lives are richer because they knew him.

Michael believed that teaching was more than a profession—it was a calling. He lived that calling every day with humility, integrity, compassion, and joy. His legacy will endure through the generations of students he inspired, the scholarship he created, the colleagues he mentored, and the countless people whose lives he quietly changed for the better.

A memorial service celebrating Michael's life will be held on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the Long's Peak Room of the Colorado State University Lory Student Center, with a reception to follow. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Michael A. Gross Memorial Scholarship Fund (https://www.grdcenter.org/donate/), continuing Michael's lifelong commitment to education and the success of future students.