Why Stanford Named Jonathan Levin Its New B-School Dean

LIKE FEDEX TO THE ITALIAN POST OFFICE

Levin has thus far eschewed media interviews, saying only in a prepared statement that “It will be an honor to join such a committed, dedicated faculty and to support their mission of applying both academic rigor and real-world relevance to their research. Deepening our understanding of management and bringing that knowledge into the classroom couldn’t be more exciting.”

But Bulow, while acknowledging his colleague’s achievements, emphasizes Levin’s “clear thinking,” saying the economist has a “remarkable breadth of intellect” and that his “turnaround time, even on difficult problems, is amazing. Most economists, even very good ones, are like the Italian post office in this regard. Jon is like FedEx.”

Another GSB professor, Andrzej Skrzypacz, says he has no concern over Levin’s lack of administrative experience, citing the new dean’s sterling reputation in “being able to be a bridge between people with different interests,” as well as his ability as Department of Economics chair to “convince different groups with different interests to make compromises.”

‘EVERYBODY LIKES HIM’

Skrzypacz has known Levin since they both arrived at Stanford in 2000. Neighbors and friends, they even recently finished a forthcoming paper together.

“When I was meeting with the committee that was working on selection of the new dean, I suggested a couple of names, and he was my number-one choice,” Skrzypacz says. “But I don’t think they chose him because of me! I know there were several people in the school who thought he would be right for the position. …

“The Economics Department, as you know, over the last ten years has been incredibly successful in hiring and he has been partially responsible for that. On the research side, everybody likes him: theorists think very highly of him because he’s done very good theoretical work, and empiricists think very highly of him because he’s also done very good empirical work.”

But it may be Levin’s extroverted nature, Skrzypacz says, his interpersonal skills, that really set him apart. “If you met him without knowing that he’s an academic, I think you would have a hard time guessing that he is one. Everybody likes him.”

ADVERBS APLENTY IN LEVIN’S CAREER

Bresnahan says his reaction to the news of Levin’s appointment was that, “Whoa, this moves a terrific scholar and colleague out of my department. A loss to us, though obviously a huge gain for Stanford.”

Bresnahan has known Levin since the new GSB dean was a teenager and has worked closely with him since his arrival at Stanford.

“Jon has both intellectual and human features that will help him as dean,” he says. “He’s a terrific scholar, with terrific scholarly values, and has both a very applied bent to his own research and a serious commitment to deep thinking. Even among the GSB’s extraordinarily talented faculty, he’ll stand out as a scholar and as an appreciator and guider of scholarship.

“All those adverbs and related things — ha! You try to write about Jon Levin without ‘extremely’ warm or ‘completely’ committed and such. Won’t work.”

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