A. Michael Spence

A. Michael Spence became Dean of the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University in July 1990. As dean, he oversees the finances, organization, and educational policies of the school. Spence earned his undergraduate degree in philosophy at Princeton summa cum laude and was selected for a Rhodes Scholarship. He was awarded a B.S.-M.A. from Oxford and earned his Ph.D. in economics at Harvard. He taught at Stanford as an Associate Professor of Economics from 1973 to 1975. From 1975 to 1990, he served as Professor of Economics and Business Administration at Harvard, holding a joint appointment in the Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In 1983 he was named chairman of the Economics Department and George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration. Spence was awarded the John Kenneth Galbraith Prize for excellence in teaching and the John Bates Clark Medal for a "significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge." From 1984 to 1990, Spence served as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard, overseeing Harvard College, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and the Division of Continuing Education. After stepping down as Dean of the GSB in the fall of 1999, Spence’s immediate plans include working with and investing in information technology companies, and teaching an MBA course on e-commerce with Professor Garth Saloner.