2024 Berkeley Haas Year in Review

The year 2024 was one of sweeping change around the world and at Berkeley Haas. 

As we head into winter break, we’re zooming out to reflect on the year even as we gear up for 2025, which kicks off with our annual flagship Culture Connect Conference and the prestigious ClimateCap Summit for sustainability-minded MBA students from around the world (tickets sold out in eight minutes!). We’ll also be throwing open the doors to our new Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Hub for students throughout UC Berkeley.

And that’s just in the first few weeks of the year—there’s always something new happening at Haas, and we’ll be ready for more of the new in 2025. 

Until then, here are a dozen highlights from 2024.

Change at the top

Dean Ann Harrison, the second woman to lead the school, stepped down in July after more than five years of leadership to return to her research and teaching. Long-time Haas professor and “double Bear” Jennifer Chatman, a renowned expert on organizational culture, took the helm as interim dean in July. We also cheered on our guitar-playing former dean Rich Lyons as he was inaugurated as UC Berkeley chancellor.

Undergrad expansion

We ushered in the first class enrolled in the new four-year Spieker Undergraduate Program. The 191 students—fresh out of high school—joined 110 transfer students and 100 continuing UC Berkeley students at an orientation that culminated with Haas Base Camp, a community-building weekend in South Lake Tahoe.

New climate leaders

The first class of students also began the new MBA/Master of Climate Solutions degree program with the Rausser College of Natural Resources. Designed for early-career professionals, the program trains business leaders who hold a deep understanding of sustainability challenges and strategies to tackle them. Haas continued to double down on its commitment to sustainability, appointing Amy Chan, BS 06, as new chief sustainability officer, and revamping all MBA core courses to incorporate thinking about climate change and sustainability challenges.

Robust rankings

In U.S. News rankings, our Undergraduate Program was again ranked No. 2, tying with MIT for the second year in a row. The Evening & Weekend MBA Program also placed No. 2 this year among part-time MBA programs. The Full-time MBA Program was ranked No. 7, and the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program also claimed the No. 7 spot. Both are the top programs in their category at a public university.

Making space for entrepreneurs

We launched the new Berkeley Haas Entrepreneurship Hub (eHub) in a beautiful renovated Julia Morgan building just steps from the Haas campus. The eHub, funded entirely by alumni donors, provides space and programming for both startup founders and those curious about entrepreneurship to connect, build, and be discovered. Led by Faculty Director Saikat Chaudhuri and Executive Director Dawn McGee, the eHub helps students navigate innovation opportunities across the UC Berkeley campus through personalized pathways. The space will be available to students in January.

Top profs

Four new professors were hired into the tenured faculty ranks. Associate Professor Kelsey Jack joined the Business & Public Policy Group from the University of California, Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and Department of Economics. Professor James Sallee, already a familiar face as faculty affiliate at the Energy Institute at Haas since 2016, moved to Haas’ Economic Analysis & Policy (EAP) Group from the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. Also joining EAP are Dr. David Chan, a health economist and MD from Stanford, who will serve as a professor and faculty director for the Robinson Life Science, Business, and Entrepreneurship Program, and Martin Beraja, joining from MIT as an (acting) associate professor. Ten new professional faculty members also joined Haas as lecturers.

Influential scholars

Haas faculty published research in top journals were recognized for extraordinary impact on their fields, their students, and society. They continued to be sought-after experts on a wide range of topics—appearing in hundreds of news articles throughout the year. Among those receiving special recognitions were Ulrike Malmendier and Matteo Benetton for their impact on public policy; Malmendier and David Sraer for the Banque de France Junior Finance Prize; Ganesh Iyer for the Informs Society for Marketing Science Fellow Award; Nancy Wallace for the John M. Quigley Award; David Teece for the STR Distinguished Scholar Award; Sa-kiera Hudson for a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and Solène Delecourt as a Best 40 Under 40 MBA Professor by Poets & Quants and for a Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching. Other Cheit Award winners were Park Sinchaisri, Flavio Feferman, Mohammed Nadeem, Kevin Coldiron, Steven Huff, and Drew Jacoby-Senghor.

Professor Jonathan Kolstad launched the Center for Healthcare Marketplace Innovation (CHMI) to translate cutting-edge AI and behavioral economics healthcare research into real-world advances in patient outcomes and reduced medical costs. The center is housed jointly at Haas and the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society.

Golden Bear champs

Haas student and alumni athletes excelled around the world, medaling at the Olympics and winning at home. Undergrad quarterback Fernando Mendoza led the Golden Bears to a comeback victory over Stanford in the 127th Big Game in November. Ryan Murphy, BS 17, took a bronze medal in the Men’s 100-Meter Backstroke at the Paris Olympics. Johnny Hooper, BS 19, was a member of Team USA Water Polo, which won bronze. 

A home for all

Students launched new clubs to serve new needs and ensure all students feel included at Haas. Barbara Rion and Cynthia Brzezinski, both MBA 25, restarted HaasAbilities for MBA students with disabilities, expanding inclusivity to many less visible conditions like ADHD and Lyme disease. Damon Wiley, Viridiana Santacruz, and Yvonne Mondragón, all MBA 25, launched the First-Gen Club, or 1G@Haas, to support MBA students who are first in their family to attend college. The thriving community of students who care deeply about product management, now led by Ansu George, EWMBA 25, started the Product Management Club (PMC) and held the inaugural Haas Product Con conference in 2024.

Listening pleasure

Haas faculty and students launched a growing suite of podcasts, adding to the long-running OneHaas podcast. Professor Sameer Srivastava and Interim Dean Jenny Chatman started The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer in March to share research-based advice on organizational culture challenges. A new podcast version of Dean’s Speaker Series allows our community to catch all the amazing speakers in the series. And MBA students started the Belonging at Haas series in November to share perspectives on DEIJB topics.

Swifties for BizEd

And last but not least, students took control of their own education, bringing passion and fun to the classroom. The business of Taylor Swift came to Haas with Miaad Madeline Bushala, BS 25, co-teaching a DeCal class called “Artistry & Entrepreneurship: Taylor’s Version.” “We wanted students to view Taylor as an entrepreneur who differentiates herself within a market, manages customer acquisition and sustains customer loyalty, and impacts multiple economies,” Bushala said. “We wanted them to think about how, as future entrepreneurs and business leaders, to make their customers their biggest fans, like Taylor has done.”