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The next thing on the agenda for today is to present the John Gardner awards.
And also the Robert Jaedicke award named after Bob Jaedicke
another dean of the school who was a long time faculty member.
So we just talked about John Gardner the person.
And the John Gardner Leadership Award, which we're now going to give out,
honors alumni volunteers who have graduated at least 20 years ago.
And have demonstrated a history of strong volunteer commitment
frequently in a leadership role.
And we recognize the Gardner winners because of
the impact that they have had on the community over time.
And just to call out how important that leadership is,
last year, of GSB alumni, more than 50% of
GSB alumni participated in some way with the school,
were engaged with the school in some way, which is really an extraordinary number.
And more than 10% of alumni, that's more than 3,000 of our alumni,
were volunteers on behalf of this school.
And they did that in all kinds of ways, for alumni programs, here on campus,
with our students, with prospective students.
With interviewing, for admissions, and in all kinds of ways here at this school.
And including helping to organize this reunion.
So I want to just say that before we turn to this year's winners we have some people
in the audience, I think, who are past winners.
So I wanted to briefly recognize them.
We have, I believe, seven members of this reunion class who have previously received
the Gardner awards.
So I'm going to read out the names and then I'd love it if
those people who are here would stand up so that we can acknowledge you.
So from the class of 67 we have John Richards,
from the class of 72 we have Pat Connelly, from the class of 77 we
have Bill Beckman and Kanyi Natsui and Jim King.
From the class of 82 we have Tom Shannon, and
from the class of 87 we have Linda Segrey, thank you.
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Okay, and now we're going to add four
more names to that illustrious list and I'm going to turn it over to Rick.
>> Susie Phillips class of '72, would you please join us on stage?
Susie serves as co-chair for her class reunion this year,
returning to a leadership role she has played in the past.
For several years she has served as a class agent and
she is currently a member of the Business School Fund Council.
Suzy is also a Stanford undergrad alum.
And she has been equally engaged planning those reunions, and serving as a board
member of Cap and Gown, the Stanford women's leadership organization and
on the Stanford Alumni Association's board of directors.
In planning this year's 45th reunion, one of Suzy's priorities has been
strategies to ensure that all members of her class feel welcomed and appreciated.
Her always thoughtful commitment to identifying and deepening points of
connection played a significant role in the classes record turn out.
Suzie, in recognition of all you have done and continue to do for
the school and your class, we are pleased to honor you with
a John Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award, thank you.
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Andy Coward, class of 77,
will you please join us?
>> [APPLAUSE] >> [INAUDIBLE]
willing to say.
>> What am I going to say?
I'm going to say that Andy asked a terrific question at that last question.
And for that- >> [LAUGH]
>> So we are pleased to recognize Andy for
his many years of service to the GSB.
Andy has been both a planning and fundraising chair multiple times for
his class reunions.
And like Susie, he has also served as a class agent.
And currently serves on the Business School Fund Council where he played
a leadership role launching the GSB Legacy Partners to celebrate alumni who make
planned gifts to the school.
Across all of his service, a hallmark of Andy's work
is blending strategic thinking with warm and genuine humor.
In other words, he's smart, effective, and he makes you laugh, a winning combination.
Andy, thank you for your continued service to the GSB.
We're pleased to present you with the John Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award.
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Scott Duncan, also class of 77.
Will you please join us?
>> [APPLAUSE] >> If you have been keeping track,
the class of 77 is about to have the most Gardner recipients for
at least five minutes.
>> [LAUGH] >> Scott has served on both the planning
and fundraising committees for his reunions over the years as well.
But he has also been the class of 77's class secretary continuously for
the 40 years since their graduation from the GSB.
>> [APPLAUSE] >> About 150 newsletters.
>> Which he says translates into about 150 newsletters.
We appreciate not only the longevity of his service which is noteworthy in and
of itself.
But also the care he puts into each column.
If you enjoy skimming the class notes section of the magazine to see what other
class years are up to, I recommend that you visit the 77 column once in awhile.
Now I have it on good authority that Scott grows his beard out every fall,
to prepare for a recurring role as Santa Claus in December.
>> [APPLAUSE] >> [LAUGH]
>> And in that spirit, Scott,
we thank you for keeping the class of 77 on your list.
For letting us know who's been naughty and who's been nice.
>> [LAUGH] >> And for
spreading good cheer to one and all.
It is our pleasure to present you with the John Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award.
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Bill Duharmo class of 1987,
will you please join us on the stage.
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Bill is also a repeat offender as a reunion volunteer, including as chair.
Last year, Bill was an instrumental leader of the successful fundraising effort to
name the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in
honor of faculty members Irv Grousbeck and Chuck Holloway.
He currently serves as Vice Chair of the GSB Trust, a board responsible for
investing a portion of the school's endowment.
Bill has served several times as a class speaker and panelist for students.
Bill is also a Stanford undergraduate alum and
when not giving back to the GSB he can be found chairing his undergraduate reunions,
serving on the advisory council for the School of Engineering, and
serving on the advisory council for the Standford Center on Longevity.
Bill's been known to participate in the famous or infamous 87 poker group.
And along with his wife, Kate, MBA Class of 88 has
remained very connected to classmates and other GSB friends since graduation.
Please join me in honoring and thanking Bill for his service.
>> [APPLAUSE] >> So
the Gardner Awards were first presented in 2002.
And in the 15 years since,
a total of 65 alumni have received this honor, including 4 just now.
Today we'd like to do something for
the first time and that's to present a Gardener Award to a group of volunteers.
We weren't sure if this was allowed or not, so we decided to look at the rules
for this award, and it turns out there are no rules.
So- >> [LAUGH]
>> In the spirit of
the GSB we felt free to do something innovative.
>> [LAUGH] >> We are pleased to present
a John Gardner Volunteer Leadership Award to all those members of the classes of 67,
82, and 87, who have served as class ambassadors.
This role was created almost five years ago, in the wake of your last reunions.
When three dedicated alumni, John Richards, class of 1967, Victoria Chang,
class of 1982, and Pam Brewster, class of 1987, volunteered to
look at ways to keep GSB classes better engaged in between reunions.
These three leaders recruited another 30 classmates to join them in this endeavor,
and the class ambassadors were born.
Since there was no roadmap for this role, each class and each ambassador was free to
pursue their own strategies on keeping the class connected and what that might mean.
In some cases, that led to more events before football games,
at the Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, and at alumni homes around the globe.
Sometimes these were simultaneous gatherings around the world on, say,
the 82nd and 87th day of the year, better known as late March for
those of us who don't calendar in quite that way.
>> [LAUGH] >> Other efforts aimed at getting in touch
with every member of the class.
With the class of 67 and class secretary, John Wilde,
that led to the longest ever class notes column to kickoff their 50th reunion year,
meriting a special publication.
In other classes, ambassadors made reaching out to
distant classmates a regular part of their travels around the globe.
Perhaps, some of you attending this reunion are here
thanks to the work of a class ambassador,
who contacted you out of the blue to get you engaged after a long hiatus.
I ask that all those who have served as class ambassadors now stand,
so that we may thank you for your service to your classmates.
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Congratulations to all of you on this shared John Gardner Leadership Award.
And here's a note for
everyone else in case you were inspired by hearing about this program.
>> [LAUGH] >> So just like Dorothy didn't need those
ruby red slippers to get back home, you actually don't need to be a class
ambassador to reach out to your classmates.
By the powers vested in me by the Stanford Graduate School of Business,
I hereby authorize each of you to contact classmates you haven't spoken to in
a million years.
And tell them I know it's been a long time, but the Director of Alumni Relations
told me I could call you and see if you have time for coffee while I'm in town.
Meet me at The Birds.
>> [LAUGH] >> I hope you find this to be a fruitful
mission, good luck and Godspeed.
>> [LAUGH]
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> We have one more terrific
piece of business this afternoon to get us in the mood for our next session, and
that is the presentation of the 2017 Silver Apple Award.
The Robert K Jaedicke Silver Apple award is presented annually to a member
of the GSB faculty for service to the school's alumni.
It is named for Dean Meredith's Bob Jaedicke who joined as a faculty member in
1961, served as acting dean in 1979 and 80 and as dean in 1983 to 1990.
It is our pleasure to present the 2017 Silver Apple to Professor Paul Oyer.
Paul, will you please join us on stage?
>> [APPLAUSE]
>> Thank you very much.
>> Paul is the Fred H Marrow Professor of Aconomics, and
a senior fellow at SEPR the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.
He is also co-director of the GSB's Center for Entrepreneurial Atudies.
He's been with the GSB since 2000 teaching a variety of management and
economic courses.
During Paul's 17 years at the university he has given tirelessly of his time
to our alumni where his relatable, humorous stories and
examples helped to demystify economic trends for our alumni.
A popular reunion talk comes from his book,
Everything I Ever Needed to Know about Economics I Learned from Online Dating.
>> [LAUGH] >> Which maybe the most fun way ever
designed to teach microeconomics.
Paul has spoken on this topic and
many others at chapter events from Houston to Malaysia from Toronto to Philipines.
From speaking in regional chapter events, to meeting with alumni while
leading student global study trips, and always being willing to speak to
our reunion classes, Paul is ever a gracious faculty volunteer.
Please join me in thanking Professor Oyer for
his generous service to the GSB alumni, and
congratulating him on receiving the 2017 Robert K Jaedicke Silver Apple award.
>> [APPLAUSE]
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