Haas Rolls out the Welcome Mat for New Undergraduate Class

The Haas School welcomed 348 new undergraduate business majors with an afternoon carnival July 7 in the school’s courtyard.

This year’s undergraduate class was selected from a pool of 1,614 applicants. The total enrollment of students in the undergrad program at Haas now sits at about 700.

The New Student Welcome Carnival introduced the incoming undergrad business majors to the many student organizations that they can join at Haas. Students played games and won prizes while getting acquainted with such organizations as the Latin American & Hispanic Business Association and Beta Alpha Psi, the honors fraternity for accounting and financial information professionals. Among the prizes: pizza at Fat Slice, a gift certificate to Henry’s, and plenty of Haas and Cal souvenirs.

About 75% of the new Haas undergraduates are continuing UC Berkeley students, while transfer students from community colleges and other schools make up the remainder. "This is a wonderful, highly qualified class of students," says Dan Himelstein, executive director of the Haas Undergraduate Program. "We're excited about working with them over the next two years."

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Book by Finance Professor Rubinstein Rewrites Some Investment Theory History

Finance Professor Mark Rubinstein challenges the origins of several financial theories, including the controversial Black-Scholes model, in his groundbreaking new book, A History of the Theory of Investments: My Annotated Bibliography.

Rubinstein’s book is a unique chronology of investment theory that draws on his more than 30 years as an award-winning finance professor. Rubinstein is renowned for his work on the binomial options pricing model (also known as the Cox-Ross-Rubinstein model) and his early work on asset pricing in the 1970s.

Dismayed by how little care many scholars take to attribute ideas to their original sources, Rubinstein, in his book, cites 19 well-known examples in financial theory that trace their history many years -– even centuries -- earlier than commonly thought.

"One of the things I’m trying to do is set the record straight," says Rubinstein, the Paul Stephens Professor of Applied Investment Analysis.

In just one example, Rubinstein points out that the seminal Black-Scholes option pricing model from 1973 shares its foundations with research published decades earlier by Nobel Prize-winning economic theorist Kenneth Arrow. And some concepts behind Arrow’s research can be traced back three centuries to correspondence between Blaise Pascal and Pierre de Fermat on probability theory in 1654, according to Rubinstein.

"The contributions of Black and Scholes were significant and worthy of a Nobel Prize, but there is more of a history behind their work in earlier literature than most academics realize," Rubinstein says.

In his book, Rubinstein references 500 books and articles while also tapping his own expertise and knowledge, sometimes using his own derivations and mathematical proofs.

"For me, knowing the history of a subject is really helpful to understanding it," Rubinstein says. "It’s also more fun to learn that way."

Rubinstein initially intended to update the book with more entries for the period after 1980. But he has decided instead to focus on an even more ambitious project – writing a 10-volume collection on Western intellectual history. He also continues to teach two courses – Derivates and Fundamentals of Financial Economics – in the Master’s of Financial Engineering Program at Haas.

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Berkeley MBA Students Make their Mark Abroad in International Consulting Program

Although Berkeley MBA student Danel Mayer, MBA 07, is no stranger to world travel, his recent research trip to Ghana as part of the International Business Development Program was unlike any previous experience overseas.

In order to learn more about Ghana’s school food program, Mayer and three fellow classmates – Jean Shia, Patricia Hwong, and Daniel Brounstein -- visited more than 10 schools where students with swollen stomachs couldn’t afford to pay 8 cents for a warm lunch.

"It was something that was very hard for us to face. These are only 6-year-old children," says Mayer, an Israeli who has traveled extensively in Southeast Asia. "But on top of being emotionally affected by the things we saw, we also had to use our business skills to make the situation better."

Such hands-on international consulting experience is the cornerstone of the IBD Program, operated through the Clausen Center for International Business & Policy. From May 20 through June 10, 72 students – the largest number in the program’s 17-year history – traveled overseas in 18 different teams to complete the on-site research component of the program.

The team’s task was to find ways to make Ghana’s school food program sustainable after donor money disappears. The program uses locally produced food. The team’s recommendations focused on agricultural development, including practices to enable local farmers to enhance their crops and ways to equip them with better seeds and machinery. The Haas team also decided to sponsor lunches for one week for every class they visited – a cost of only $10 to $15 per class.

"Just giving the money away for one week is good, but you have to find long-term solutions. So we’re trying to see how to help strengthen the economy," Mayer says.

The one-year program started in January with teams consulting with their clients and undertaking background research and analysis while attending classes. Now that they have returned to Haas, students will carry out follow-up work as needed to complete their assignments.

Additional clients this year include, among others, the Wildlife Conservation Society, COMACO (Community Markets for Conservation) in Zambia, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, and the Sewalanka Foundation in Sri Lanka.

In Zambia, an IBD team conducted market research for current and potential products under the It’s Wild brand, designed by the Wildlife Conservation Society to promote sustainable agriculture and end animal poaching.

This is the second year that Haas students have worked with the Sewalanka Foundation, whose mission is to help resettle villagers who have been displaced by civil war or the tsunami. This year the IBD team was charged with helping Sewalanka make the transition from a relief to a development framework.

"A lot of the students say this is the most memorable experience of their time at Haas. It’s life-changing for many of them," says IBD Program Director and Adjunct Professor Sebastian Teunissen. "I would love them to take those memories and turn them into opportunities for future Haas students."

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From Ike to IT, Prof. Marschak’s Work in Economic Theory Spans a Changing World

The year that Professor Thomas Marschak came to Berkeley’s School of Business Administration, Dwight D. Eisenhower was on his way out as president and "information technology" was barely on its way in as an emerging field of academic study.

Forty-six years later, the School of Business Administration is now the Haas School of Business, information technology is ubiquitous, and Marschak continues to enjoy the challenge of teaching complicated concepts and his decades-long exploration of centralized and decentralized organizations.

As the longest tenured Haas professor by about 14 years, Marschak, age 76, has taught thousands of business students, from undergrads in the core microeconomics class to MBA students in a Decisions, Games, and Strategies course to Ph.D. economics students. He came to Haas from the RAND Corp., where he examined how the military spent billions of dollars on developing one aircraft without considering alternatives. Later, as a professor, he studied nationalized industries in France and resource allocation in the former Yugoslavia.

Of course, Marschak also has some stories about his time in Berkeley in the 1960s, sitting in his Barrows Hall office as helicopters flew by spraying tear gas on protesters. "There was one time we literally had to leave the office because it just wasn’t healthy to stay around," he recalls.

More recently, Marschak’s research has naturally evolved into examining how information technology affects organizations.

"What many people say is that IT has become so pervasive that you don’t have to worry about the costs of handling information because they’re trivial," Marschak says. But IT changes how people use their time, he notes.

"The 24 hours will never be any bigger, and IT changes the way people allocate that," he explains. "Consequently, you would think that information technology is bound to have some effect on the way organizations look."

However, few economists have analyzed the organizational changes that have actually resulted or would be expected to result from information technology. Marschak sought to begin filling that void with an article titled "Information Technology and the Organization of Firms" in the Fall 2004 issue of the Journal of Economics & Management Strategy.

In the article, Marschak created his own economic model to compare the impact of information technology – he calls it "search technology" – on a centralized and decentralized firm. Marschak’s inspiration was the astonishing advances in database search technology, as highlighted by Google. A real-world example of his stylized firm might be a consumer products firm using database technology to decide how much to ship to different markets.

In his model, Marschak found that as IT improves under certain circumstances, the costs of decentralizing may shrink and be outweighed by administrative advantages, such as the elimination of monitoring by headquarters.

Marschak calls the article "just the barest beginning" in the theoretical analysis of IT’s impact on organizational structure, though he hopes it spurs others to follow his path.

Professor Emeritus Oliver Williamson offers another view of Marschak’s work: "His leading edge work on information, especially in relation to the mechanisms of communication and organizational design, has advanced the frontier and deepened our understanding of this now flourishing field." Williamson is the Edgar F. Kaiser Chair of Business, Economics and Law.

So, what has kept Marschak at Haas so long? The satisfaction from teaching and his quest to document the impact of technology, Marschak says, adding only that his retirement is "upcoming."

"You have some ideas that you think are very important for people to know, and the challenge is to convey them so that they can be easily grasped," Marschak says. "I find it rewarding."

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Alumnus and Chevys Restaurant Founder Warren Simmons Passes Away

Alumnus and former Haas School Advisory Board member Warren Lewis Simmons, BS 51, died on June 21 in Napa surrounded by family. He was 79.

Simmons was an airline pilot for Pan American from 1950 to 1970, but he is best known for his entrepreneurial skills and passion.

A native San Franciscan, Simmons was the developer of Pier 39, a shop and restaurant complex on San Francisco’s northern waterfront, which opened in 1978. After selling Pier 39 in 1981, he started Chevys Mexican Restaurants. Chevys began in 1986 with one restaurant in Alameda, then quickly expanded to 38 restaurants before it was sold to PepsiCo in 1993.

While operating Chevys, Simmons noted that it was difficult to order enough cranberries for the restaurant’s fresh seasonal margaritas. In 1992, he bought thousands of acres of farmland south of Santiago, Chile, to plant and process cranberries and created a new company, CranChile. CranChile grew to be the largest grower and processor of cranberries in the world.

Simmons was born in San Francisco on May 7, 1927. He graduated from the business undergraduate program in 1949, although the official degree was awarded to him in 1951. He was a longtime supporter of the Haas School and UC Berkeley’s Athletic Department, and a former member of the Haas School Advisory Board, the Benjamin Ide Wheeler Society, and the CAA Cal Spirit Alumni Club.

Simmons is survived by his wife, Caroline, three sons, a daughter, two stepchildren, his sister, and six grandchildren.

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Haas in the News

Henry Chesbrough, adjunct professor and executive director of Center for Open Innovation, was mentioned in a July 6 Forbes article titled "Kraft’s Innovation Challenge." For full article: http://www.forbes.com/leadership/2006/06/29/leadership-innovation-christensen-cx_cc_0706kraftsinnovationchallenge.html

Dean Tom Campbell was quoted in a July 5 Contra Costa Times article titled "Professors test worth with Cal pay policy." For full article: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/living/education/14968813.htm

Severin Borenstein, the E.T. Grether Professor of Business Administration and Public Policy, was quoted in a number of news outlets regarding gas prices:
+ July 5 Stockton Record article titled "Oil tax on November ballot would fund alternative fuel." For full article: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060705/NEWS01/607050312/1001
+ July 1 Contra Costa Times article titled "Groups play blame game for ever-increasing costs." For full article: http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/14946878.htm
+ June 25 Stockton Record article titled "Big oil is target of bill." For full article: http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060625/NEWS01/606250358/1001
+ June 10 Santa Cruz Sentinel article titled "Gas prices head down…for now." For full article: http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/archive/2006/June/10/local/stories/03local.htm
+ June 9 Sacramento Bee article titled "State bill could cap gas prices for weeks." For full article: http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/14265890p-15078032c.html

Abby Scott, executive director of MBA career services, was mentioned in a July 2 Financial Times article titled "London leads drive to hire MBAs." For full article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/58e61058-09ea-11db-ac3b-0000779e2340.html

Nicole Johnson, assistant professor of the Haas Accounting Group, was quoted in a July 1 San Francisco Chronicle article titled "KLA-Tencor sees stock problems/Likely backdating of options may force earnings restatement." For full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/01/BUGPOJNJ1C1.DTL

Professor Philip Tetlock's book, Expert Political Judgment: How Good Is It? How Can We Know?, was mentioned in news outlets:
+ July Money article titled "Why You Can’t Believe Predictions."
+ June 20 Financial Times article titled "The world needs more foxes and fewer hedgehogs." For full article: http:/www.ft.com/cms/s/1a65dc72-fffa-11da-93a0-0000779e2340.html (requires registration)

Robert Cole, professor emeritus, was quoted in a June 27 Los Angeles Times article titled "Commodore Computer Devotees Tinker With the Past" regarding the culture of Commodore clubs and Commodore usage. For full article: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-commodore27jun27,0,1955796.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Ashok Bardhan, senior economist in the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, was quoted in a June 24 San Francisco Chronicle article titled "Going far in the East, Young Californias moving to India – not just for jobs, but for life lessons." For full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/24/BUGG3JJJ3E1.DTL

Dwight Jaffee, the Willis Booth Professor of Banking, Finance, and Real Estate, was mentioned in several news outlets regarding Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s debt and its effect on interest rates:
+ June 23 American Enterprise Institute article titled "Moral Hazard on Steroids." For full article: http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.24591/pub_detail.asp
+ June 12 Lansing State Journal article titled "Risk-level at heart of Congress’ debate." For full article: http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060612/NEWS01/606120336/1001/news
+ June 9 Gannett News Service article titled "Lawmakers, experts worry Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have risky portfolios."

Cynthia Kroll, senior regional economist at the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics, was quoted in a June 21 Reuters article titled "San Francisco-area home sales down 20 pct in May." For full article: http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=realEstateRestaurantsHotels&storyID=nN21343790

Rose Duignan, a Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA student, was featured in a June 20 Berkeley News web feature titled "MBA student Rose Duignan just wants to put dinner on your table" for becoming a co-owner of the Dinner Source, a "dinner-assembly" company. For full article: http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/06/20_dinner.shtml

Kellie McElhaney, adjunct professor and director of the Center for Responsible Business, wrote an article titled "Conscientious Capitalism," which was published in Science & Theology News on June 19. For full article: http://www.stnews.org/commentary-2871.htm

David Teece, the Mitsubishi Bank Professor of International Business and Finance, was mentioned in a June 18 Financial Times article titled "Leeds professor wins Viipuri prize" for being a previous recipient of the Viipuri prize in strategic management and business economics. For full article: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4204f1b4-fee2-11da-84f3-0000779e2340,dwp_uuid=02e16f4a-46f9-11da-b8e5-00000e2511c8.html

The Haas School was mentioned in a June 16 Times of India article titled "More Indians flock foreign B-schools" regarding the huge increases in the number of Indian applicants to the school. For full article: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1652049.cms

James Wilcox, the Kruttschnitt Family Professor of Financial Institutions, was mentioned in a June 14 Credit Union Times article titled "Filene Report Argues NCUA Should Allow CUs to Convert Directly To Stock Banks; Receiving a Per Member Share of CU Only Way to Protect Member Interests."

Terrance Odean, professor of finance, was quoted in a June 12 Pensions & Investments article titled "Managers' behavioral biases get once-over from software." For full article: http://www.pionline.com/article.cms?articleId=55170 (requires log-in)

Hector Ramos, Haas undergraduate student, was mentioned in a June 10 San Francisco Chronicle article titled "Overcoming rough times – UC program helps poor students thrive." For full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/06/10/BAGS4JBQN01.DTL

The Haas School’s Intel Technology Entrepreneurship Program was mentioned in news outlets regarding similar initiatives being developed in the Middle East, Turkey, and Africa regions:
+ June 8 Middle East Company News article titled "Intel jump starts technology entrepreneurship program in the region." For full article: http://www.ameinfo.com/88325.html
+ June Business Today Egypt article titled "WEF, Intel, Nortel, MCIT Bring Tech to Classrooms." For full article: http://www.businesstodayegypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=6799

Odean was quoted in a June 7 Business Day article titled "Street Dogs: Bless ‘em" regarding investment clubs. For full article: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/markets.aspx?ID=BD4A212081

The Haas School was featured in a follow-up article to Business Week’s 2006 undergraduate program rankings titled "Best Programs by Specialty" on June 6. According to the article, Haas received high marks in core areas such as accounting and marketing. For full article: http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jun2006/bs20060606_932983.htm

Henry Chesbrough, was quoted in a June 5 Corante article titled "What does 'crowdsourcing' mean for business innovation?" For full article: http://ideaflow.corante.com/archives/2006/06/05/what_does_crowdsourcing_mean_for_business_innovation.php

Odean was mentioned in a June 5 Detroit Free Press article titled "Investments: Be proactive about your financial statement." For full article: http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060605/BUSINESS07/606050385/1020/BUSINESS

Peter Sealey, adjunct professor of the Haas Marketing Group, was interviewed in a June 5 NPR segment titled "Bill Maher Hosts Online Interview Show for Amazon." For full story: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5451105

Chesbrough was quoted in a June 4 the News Journal article titled "DuPont's new path: research with results" regarding the shift toward the global market for innovation. For full article: http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060604/BUSINESS/306040004/1003

Odean was quoted in a June 1 Business Day article titled "Street Dogs: Indecision and fear." For full article: http://www.businessday.co.za/articles/markets.aspx?ID=BD4A209123

Tom Campbell was quoted in a May 31 ABC7 article titled "New Low-Cost Airline Strips Up Controversy." For full article: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=business&id=4224470

Borenstein was quoted in a May 26 San Jose Mercury News article titled "Verdicts won't help state recoup losses." For full article: http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/14672759.htm

David Vogel, the Solomon P. Lee Chair, was mentioned in an Ethical Corporation May 25 article titled "Is corporate social responsibility serious business?" For full article: http://www.ethicalcorp.com/content.asp?ContentID=4281

Vogel’s book, Market for Virtue, was mentioned in a May 24 article in The Age, Australia, titled "Dubious corporate beauty contests." For full article: http://www.theage.com.au/news/business/dubious-corporate-beauty-contests/2006/05/23/1148150256613.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1

David Levine, professor of the Haas Economic Analysis and Policy Group, wrote an article titled "Our opportunity to end poverty – or fail to even try" which was published in the May 21 San Francisco Chronicle. For full article: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/05/21/ING0CIU6771.DTL&hw=our+opportunity+to+end+poverty&sn=001&sc=1000

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Happening at Haas

ALUMNI EVENTS

BAY AREA ALUMNI
Annual Northern California "MBA Masters" Golf Tournament and Dinner
Friday, July 21
1:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, 23600 McKean Road, San Jose
Join Bay Area alumni of other top business schools at The Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, as they compete for the "MBA Masters" title at the first Northern California "MBA Masters" Golf Tournament and Dinner, which is slated to become an annual event. All levels of golfers are encouraged to participate in a friendly scramble format. Participating schools include Haas, Columbia, Kellogg, Stanford, Chicago, and Michigan. To register, go to https://kelloggalumni.northwestern.edu/Events/EventView.asp?EventID=1891&headingid=&override=. For more information, contact Alexander Kent, akent@ccarey.com, 650-793-0541.

LONDON ALUMNI
Pub Night
Monday, July 24
7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Rugby Tavern, 19 Great James Street, London
London alumni are invited for a summer drink at the Rugby Tavern in London in the function room upstairs. Pub Nights are free, informal events that attract UC alumni of all ages and from all walks of life (30-40 people come on a typical evening). This event is organized by the UC system-wide alumni group in London that represents 3,500 UC alumni living in the UK.
For more information: matthewdaines@californiahouse.org.uk.

ATLANTA ALUMNI
Haas Alumni Connections Dinner
Thursday, July 27
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Sala - Sabor de Mexico, 1186 North Highland Ave NE, Atlanta
Haas alumni in Atlanta are cordially invited to a Haas Alumni Connections dinner hosted by Tenny Frost, executive director, Haas Alumni Relations, and Kristen Williams, director, Haas Alumni Relations. Join fellow alumni in the Atlanta Metro area to learn more about the Haas Alumni Network and to enjoy a wonderful dinner with other Haas folks in your area.
To register, go to http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=114368.
For more information, contact the Haas Alumni Relations Office at alumni@haas.berkeley.edu

SOUTH BAY ALUMNI
Summer Picnic & Welcome Party for New Alums and Students
Saturday, July 29
12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Rengstorff Park, 201 South Rengstorff Avenue, Mountain View
Join fellow Haas alums in the South Bay/Silicon Valley for our annual summer picnic and party to welcome new admits into the Haas School and new alums.
To RSVP and for more information, contact David Hansen at david@hansen.net.

SAN FRANCISCO & SOUTH BAY ALUMNI
Multi-School Happy Hour
Thursday, August 3
6:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Fanny & Alexander's, 412 Emerson Street, Palo Alto
Bay Area alumni are invited to the B-School Social being held in Palo Alto. Haas alumni attending will be from all parts of the Bay Area. The last event in the spring drew over 250+ people from 15+ schools... and we're still growing.
To register, go to http://www.mbabayarea.com/event2006augsocial.ph.
For more information, contact Haas alumni relations at alumni@haas.berkeley.edu

Berkeley-Columbia MBA ALUMNI
Save the Date! Berkeley-Columbia Annual Summer Family Picnic
Sunday, August 6
Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park
All Berkeley-Columbia alumni and their families are invited to this picnic. The event will take place on Sunday, August 6, at the Speedway Meadow in Golden Gate Park.
Further details, including RSVP information to come soon. For more information, contact Yen Tran at yentran@haas.berkeley.edu

BAY AREA Berkeley-Columbia MBA WOMEN ALUMNI
Save The Date! Berkeley-Columbia MBA Women's Dinner
Sunday, August 13
East Bay/SF area
Berkeley-Columbia MBA women - alumni and students - are invited to the second Berkeley-Columbia MBA Women's Dinner. More details will follow.
RSVP to Antonia Cusumano Binetti at acbinetti@mac.com or 415-307-7376 and let us know if you will be able to join us!

EAST BAY ALUMNI
Save The Date! Welcome Party For New Grads & Recently Admitted Students
Saturday, August 19
Lake Temescal Regional Park, Oakland (exact location to come)
The East Bay Welcome Party in Lake Temescal Regional Park will welcome recent grads and newly admitted students to Haas. More details coming soon.

NEW ENGLAND ALUMNI
Cross-Business School Happy Hour
Tuesday, September 5
6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Julien Bar and Lounge, Langham Hotel, 250 Franklin Street, Boston
Join alumni from Wharton, Sloan (MIT), INSEAD, IMD, Stanford, Stern (NYU), Tuck (Dartmouth), SOM (Yale), London Business School, Johnson (Cornell), Fuqua (Duke), Harvard, and Columbia for the monthly Cross-Business Happy Hour.
For more information, contact Celine Pan at celine_pan@yahoo.com

BAY AREA BCMBA ALUMNI
Save the Date! 2nd Annual Berkeley-Columbia Gala and Benefit Auction
Saturday, September 16
Runnymede Farms, Woodside
The 2nd Annual Berkeley-Columbia Gala and Benefit Auction will be held on September 16, 2006, at Runnymede Farms in Woodside.
For more information, contact bcgala@gmail.com.

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