Stanford Business School Salutes the Record-Breaking Generosity of the Class of 2002.

News Editors

During the 77th commencement of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, this year's graduating MBA Class of 2002 received special recognition for its collective record-breaking gift to the Business School.

Dean Robert L. Joss presided over the diploma ceremony

that honored the 440 people awarded degrees this academic year: 374 received MBAs, 7 of them joint JD degrees from Stanford's School of Law; 9 received PhDs; 9 received the degree of Master of Arts in Business Research; and 48 graduates of the Stanford Sloan Program received the Master of Science in Management degree.

"This year's class is extraordinary for several reasons," said Dan Rudolph, senior associate dean, speaking of the MBA Class of 2002. As of July 8, a record 91 percent of the class participated in the gift, and the dollars pledged of more than $311,000 shattered the old dollar record by more than $137,000. Moreover, Rudolph said, the gift was made during a very difficult economic environment. "And the old model of picking a very specific building project has been replaced this year by a much more general grant to fund several student fellowships and expand the second year seminars."

Of the MBA graduates, 38 learned that they had achieved distinction as Arjay Miller Scholars. In honor of the fourth dean of the Business School who was on hand to personally congratulate them, Arjay Miller Scholars are ranked in the top 10 percent of their class by academic performance.

At the top of the class, Robert Scott Berg was named the Henry Ford II Scholar and presented with a check for $15,000. The native of Australia who majored in actuarial studies as an undergraduate at MacQuarie University also received the Alexander A. Robichek Student Achievement Award in Finance, named for an early finance professor and bestowed by the Finance faculty for excellence in coursework in the discipline.

Honored by his peers, Damon A. Vangelis accepted the Ernest C. Arbuckle Award from Susan Arbuckle, youngest daughter of the late third dean of the Business School. Judged by classmates as having contributed most to the fulfillment of the goals of the Business School in his active participation, initiative, leadership and personal integrity, Vangelis brought to Business School a background of 8 years' service in the non-profit sector and an undergraduate degree in political science from Williams College. "I accept this award as an individual," he said, "but I share it with each one of you in the Class of 2002 who were brought together by the tragic events on the East Coast in 2001."

During the June 15 graduation ceremony, special recognition was given to graduates who took on extra coursework to complete the certificate program in Global Management, dedicated to global issues and international business. For the first time in the program's 8 years, 13 Sloan fellows were among the 100 recipients. Similarly, certificates of completion were awarded to 86 MBA and Sloan graduates who passed the course of study in the Public Management Program, created under the leadership of Dean Emeritus Arjay Miller in 1971 to train leaders for the public sector.

"You came to us with enormous talents and experiences; you leave enriched in experiences and in knowledge," said David Kreps, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. "But this is not goodbye. We hope and expect that you will remain a member of our community, now with the new title of alumnus, but engaged in the same basic activity of growing personally and intellectually, giving to the community as you take from it."