To:                   All members of the Sauder School of Business – faculty, staff, and students

From:              David H. Farrar, Provost and Vice President Academic

Re:                   Appointment of a new Dean, Sauder School of Business

I am very pleased to announce that the Board of Governors has accepted the President’s recommendation that Professor Robert Helsley be appointed as Dean of the Sauder School of Business for a five-year term commencing July 1, 2012.

Prof. Helsley is Professor of Real Estate and Economic Analysis and Policy and holds the Chair in Real Estate Development at the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.  Prof. Helsley also is co-chair of the Fisher Center for Real Estate and Urban Economics at the University of California, Berkeley.  Prior to taking up that appointment in 2008, Prof. Helsley was a Professor at the Sauder School of Business.  He joined UBC in 1984, where he held many roles, including serving as Senior Associate Dean Faculty and Research at Sauder for six years.

Prof. Helsley received his B.S. (Economics and Mathematics) from the University of Oregon in 1979, and his Ph.D. (Economics) from Princeton University in 1985.

Prof. Helsley brings a strong commitment to excellence in research, teaching and academic leadership. He has an extensive publications record and his current research interests are in the areas of urban and public economics, agglomeration and political economy. His research focuses on the growth and development of urban areas, the operation of private land markets, and the economic impacts of government tax, spending and regulatory policies. His recent research examines knowledge sharing and innovation in cities and gated communities; the economic geography of crime, social interactions and urban development; the economics of so-called “private governments”; and the implications of outsourcing for urban and regional development. At Haas he taught undergraduate and graduate courses in urban and real estate economics and served as faculty advisor for the PhD program in real estate.  He was an Associate Editor of Regional Science and Urban Economics from 1997 to 2004 and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Urban Economics from 1996 to 2008.  He currently serves as co-editor of the Journal of Urban Economics.  He has received several awards for teaching and research.

I want to thank the Faculty – faculty members, staff, students – for participating in the search process and for providing valuable feedback to the Advisory Committee.  I also would like to thank the members of the Advisory Committee for their commitment of extensive time and energy throughout the search.

I wish to express my gratitude to Dean Dan Muzyka for his service to the University during the past thirteen years.  His leadership has elevated the stature and reputation of the Sauder School of Business and the University, both nationally and internationally.

I look forward to working with Prof. Helsley as he brings his strong commitment to student learning, research excellence, and academic leadership to this role.  I hope you will join me in welcoming him to UBC.