Haas Professors Emeriti Oliver Williamson and Janet Yellen were honored as Berkeley Fellows earlier this year by Chancellor Robert Birgeneau.
Williamson, the 2009 Nobel laureate in economics, and Yellen, vice chair of the Federal Reserve, were introduced to the prestigious group of Berkeley Fellows at a private dinner with the chancellor in February.
The Berkeley Fellows are an honorific society of distinguished friends of the Berkeley campus, selected by the chancellor. The society was created purely as a means of recognizing contributions to the university.
"We are very fortunate to count Janet Yellen and Oliver Williamson as part of the Berkeley community. Olly's accomplishments in the field of economics and Janet's public service with the Federal Reserve have brought great prestige to our university," says Birgeneau. "In naming them Berkeley Fellows, we hope to express our sincerest thanks for their decades of dedication to Berkeley."
Williamson was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences in 2009 for his pioneering analysis of economic governance, particularly the boundaries of the firm. He joined the Haas School faculty in 1988.
Yellen was named vice chair of the Federal Reserve in 2010. For 26 years, from 1980 to 2006, Yellen taught macroeconomics at Haas and held a joint appointment with the Department of Economics. She was twice awarded the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching, in 1985 and 1988.
The Berkeley Fellows were created with 100 members in 1968, the 100th anniversary of the chartering of the university by then Chancellor Robert Heyns. In 1981, the number of fellows was expanded to match the age of the university, thus increasing the size of the group by one each year.
Other Berkeley Fellows from Haas include former Dean Budd Cheit; Professor Emeritus Robert Cole, and Lecturer and alumnus Leo Helzel, MBA 68. The group also includes several other Haas alumni and friends: Gerson Bakar, BS 48; Ed Bartlett, BS 51; Frank Baxter, BA 61; Kathleen Correia, BS 76; Rick Cronk, BS 65; David Flinn, Richard Greene, and Claude Hutchison, all BS 60; former Levi's CEO Bob Haas; Harry Hathaway, BS 59; Paul Hazen, MBA 64; Pres Hotchkis, BS 51; Pat Hyndman, BS 38; Grant Inman, MBA 69; Steve Keller, BS 59; Ted Lee, MBA 66; George Miller, MBA 61; Norm Mineta, BS 53; Robert O'Donnell, BS 65, MBA 66; Ed Peterson, BS 58; Ted Saenger, BS 51; Tom Schneider, MBA 62; Peter Shea, BS 57; Barclay Simpson, BS 43; Carol and Ned Spieker, BS 66; Paul Stephens, MBA 69; and Carl Stoney, MBA 71.
Outside of Haas, well-known Berkeley Fellows include author Joan Didion and chef/restaurateur Alice Waters.