Business at Berkeley: The History of the Haas School of Business

Founded by a gift of benefactor Cora Jane Flood in 1898, the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley is the second oldest business school in the country. Its upward trajectory from a “College of Commerce” to its top-ranked position today owes as much to its place as it does to its people and culture. Its affiliation with Berkeley has ensured rigorous academic research while its location at the heart of Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area has placed it at the forefront of innovative developments in business, technology, and society. Providing access to leading business education and research is a hallmark of its public mission. Sandra Epstein conducted dozens of interviews with the primary players, including the business school deans who were insiders to complex decisions that led Berkeley-Haas to where it is today. She has an ear for the telling anecdote, an eye for the essential character qualities of a long-beloved faculty member, and a touch with words that brings to life each era. Highly readable and meticulously researched, this guide to the ongoing life of UC-Berkeley's Business School will delight and entertain readers as it takes them through the years of what American undergraduate and graduate business education has grown to be.