Office Artifact: George G.C. Parker’s 1977 GSB Yearbook Cover
A yearbook cover sparks memories for Stanford GSB finance professor.
Front Photo by Drew Kelly | Back Photo from GSB Archives
In the world of investment banking, when a company went public, it used to publish an ad in the newspaper. Often a full page, it was called a tombstone. It showed the name of the company, the shares that were being offered, the asking price per share. And then it would list all the participating investment banks; the lead bank was always at the top of the tombstone, then the tiers were underneath.
In ’77, I was the director of the Stanford Sloan program [now MSx], and I taught two courses in corporate finance in the MBA program. One of my students decided to do a yearbook cover that would make the whole graduating class look like a tombstone — a public offering of stock. It was a clever idea; it made me smile.
A closer look at the cover shows all the names. | Photo by Drew Kelly
The yearbook cover said 302 MBAs, for the number of shares being offered. The share price of $21,500 was the average starting salary that year for graduates. And the names of certain faculty were listed as though they were investment bankers offering the shares, including Arjay Miller at the top.
Arjay was the dean, and he was larger than life, a really commanding, charismatic person to whom I genuflected. He was kind of a god and one of the reasons I remember being thrilled to be on that list.
They teamed me up with Robichek and Sharpe. I was really complimented by that. Sharpe was the GSB’s first Nobel Prize winner. Robichek was probably the most high-profile professor of finance. And I was just a newbie; I had only been here for four years. (This year represents my 52nd year of consecutive teaching at the GSB.)
There was one guy up there with whom I was very competitive, Jack McDonald. We were MBA classmates, PhD classmates, and professors of finance together at Stanford. He was also a very close friend of mine. I liked to point out that he got a mention all by himself on the tombstone. He loved that.
And the others? There are some real giants there. People used to say nothing moved around here without Chuck Horngren’s approval. He was this very mild-mannered man, ostensibly very gentle, but when young faculty came around, you could just watch ’em show deference. And Lee Bach was the power behind the throne, the chair of the search committee that picked Arjay Miller. So when Arjay wanted to know whether something would work, he talked to Lee and Chuck, and if they said, that’s not a good idea, Arjay would put it in a drawer.
Ezra Solomon was my thesis advisor. He was my mentor, as was Jim Van Horne. It is a huge honor for me to occupy the same endowed chair that Professor Solomon once had. Finally, there were three much beloved names from the GSB staff. Carol Marchick was the director of admissions and got top billing here. And there were the MBA program administrators: Gary Williams and Margaret Kenny.
Now, there are some pretty important people that weren’t on the cover. But it does represent, for me, continuity and excellence in its own time. I think we’re connected to the past. We all came from somewhere — and it’s of interest to occasionally reflect on it. — Told to Amara Holstein
Office Artifact
In this ongoing Stanford Business series, we visit Stanford GSB professors’ offices and ask them to share the stories behind some of their favorite mementos.
George G.C. Parker is the Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance, Emeritus, at Stanford GSB.
