Among the new faces that can be spied on campus as the new year begins is that of Ira M. Millstein, one of the country's leading experts on corporate law and governance of large companies, who has joined the School of Management faculty as the first Eugene F. Williams Jr. Visiting Professor in Competitive Enterprise and Strategy.
The new visiting professorship was endowed by Mr. Williams, a member of the Yale College Class of 1945W and the retired chair of the board of Centerre Trust Company of St. Louis, Missouri.
The professorship will bring to campus distinguished individuals who are committed to developing and strengthening the nation's economic and political institutions at home and to continuing their expansion abroad. Incumbents of the chair will teach graduate- level courses that focus on private-sector decision-making -- specifically how to balance the objectives, characteristics and resources of the organization and market opportunities.
"This professorial chair is particularly appropriate at SOM where management students gain a deep insight into how private- sector firms function, but also how business and government systems interact," says SOM Dean Jeffrey E. Garten. "Ira Millstein's far- reaching expertise in policy decisions that maximize the benefits of private enterprise in the context of government control systems, makes him ideal for this distinguished post."
Mr. Millstein is senior partner of Weil, Gotshal & Manges in New York City, having been with the firm since 1951. A graduate of Columbia University's Schools of Engineering and of Law, he had previously worked in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. Shortly after entering private practice, he was recalled to the Antitrust Division for a special assignment and was designated special assistant to the attorney general.
The new SOM faculty member has written and lectured extensively on antitrust, government regulation and corporate governance issues. He is coauthor of "The Limits of Corporate Power" and contributing author to "The Battle for Corporate Control: Shareholder Rights, Stakeholder Interests and Managerial Responsibility" and "The U.S. Business Corporation: An Institution in Transition." He also coedited "The Impact of the Modern Corporation."
This fall, Professor Millstein will team-teach "Corporate Governance and the Role of Compliance" with SOM professor Paul MacAvoy, and next spring will teach "Antitrust Law and the Business Manager."