Three Faculty Honored With New Academic Chair Titles

Three faculty members have been honored with new academic chair titles. They are V. Seenu Srinivasan, the Adams Distinguished Professor in Management; Lawrence M. Wein, the Paul E. Holden Professor of Management Science; and David M. Kreps, the Theodore J. Kreps Professor of Economics.

Srinivasan is an internationally known specialist in marketing who has revolutionized academic and applied thinking in his academic field. He has received the Churchill award for lifetime achievement in marketing research and the Converse Award for outstanding contributions as well as many other awards for his research. Srinivasan’s work centers on conjoint analysis—methods for understanding customer preferences, on new product development, market structure analysis, and brand equity measurement.

Wein, who joined the Business School faculty in the fall of 2002, is recognized for his work in operations management, supply chain management, medical treatment, and e-commerce. Most recently he has authored several articles that have influenced government policies in preparing response plans in the event of bioterrorist attacks with pathogens such as smallpox or anthrax.

Kreps, who currently is senior associate dean for academic affairs at the School, is an economic theorist of international reputation. He is a recipient of the John Bates Clark medal recognizing his work in economics and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Kreps’ pathbreaking work concerns dynamic choice behavior and economic contexts where dynamic choices are key. He has contributed to the literature of axiomatic choice theory, financial markets, dynamic games, bounded rationality, and human resource management.

The Adams Family Foundation, created by Stephen and Denise Adams of Santa Barbara, Calif., has established three Adams Distinguished Professorships in Management for the School. Two of the chairs have been awarded so far. Robert Wilson is the other Adams Distinguished Professor of Management. Stephen Adams is a 1962 Stanford MBA graduate.

The Holden Professorship was established in 1974 by former students and business associates to honor one of the School’s original faculty members. Under Holden’s leadership the School established its executive education program and he was also the first director of the Sloan Management Program.

In 1977 a gift from IBM Corporation established the Theodore J. Kreps Professorship at the Business School, honoring the Business School professor who had been a pioneer in economics. For the more than three decades that Ted Kreps was an active faculty member he was known as a scholar of passionate conviction with a challenging classroom style and high personal regard for his students.