Honoring One of a Kind: The George G.C. Parker Professorship

George G.C. Parker, the Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Emeritus, is the inspiration for a number of colleagues, friends and former students to establish an endowed chair in his honor.

October 15, 2008

It is a Stanford GSB tradition to honor outstanding faculty members with an enduring legacy designed to benefit future generations. It comes as no surprise that George G.C. Parker, the Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Emeritus, is the inspiration for a number of colleagues, friends, and former students to establish an endowed chair in his honor.

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George G. C. Parker

“The chair was a wonderful surprise, and I am touched and full of gratitude.” - George G. C. Parker

In tribute to Parker and his legacy at the school, Katherine August-deWilde, MBA ’75, and David deWilde, MS ’84, initially helped to establish a faculty fund in his name. Subsequent lead gifts from Denise and Stephen Adams, MBA ’62, and Penny and Jim Coulter, MBA ’86, along with the generosity of many others, brought the fund to the professorship level creating the George G.C. Parker Professorship in Management.

“David and I are delighted with the opportunity to join our colleagues to express our gratitude to George for the impact that he has made on our educational experience. We hope that future holders of this chair will continue to inspire students in the way that George did for so many of us,” says August-deWilde.

During the past 35 years, Parker’s many contributions to Stanford include research, teaching, and exemplary leadership in service to Stanford GSB and the university. Since joining the faculty in 1973 to direct the Sloan Master’s Program, he also has overseen the executive education program and served as senior associate dean for academic affairs and director of the MBA Program. He earned his MBA in 1962 and PhD in 1967 from Stanford GSB.

Parker currently serves as the director of the Sloan Master’s Program. His teaching and research interests are primarily in corporate finance, management of financial institutions, and corporate governance. He is the author of numerous case studies and articles on capital structure, risk management, and corporate evaluation. His students cite a deep sense of respect for Parker’s ability to inspire, teach, and make learning enjoyable.

Parker also has contributed to the Stanford community in many roles, including membership in the Faculty Senate and on various selection committees. From 2003 to the present, he has served as the faculty chairman of the advisory panel on investment responsibility for the Board of Trustees. Most recently, Parker, an avid equestrian, was appointed to head the advisory board of the Stanford Red Barn, which is Leland Stanford’s original horse facility on campus and the home of the Stanford equestrian team.

He also was honored as the recipient of the 2000 Robert T. Davis Award for Faculty Lifetime Achievement and the 2006 Distinguished Teacher Award in the MBA Program.

“To have a chair named in my honor after all these years is the culmination of 35 years of teaching that has had innumerable rewards,” notes Parker. “Endowed chairs always have been a critical component in the enduring financial support of faculty at the school. Without this support, it would be impossible to achieve the stature and excellence to which the school aspires. The chair was a wonderful surprise, and I am touched and full of gratitude.”

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