UC Berkeley Press Release
Governor names Tom Campbell, UC Berkeley business school dean, to lead state's Department of Finance
BERKELEY – Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger today (Thursday, Nov. 4) announced the appointment of Tom Campbell, dean of the University of California, Berkeley's Haas School of Business, as the new director of the California Department of Finance.
Campbell, an economist and lawyer who served five terms as a Republican congressman representing the Silicon Valley and also served as a California state senator, will take a leave of absence from his university post and is expected to begin his new job Dec 1.
 Tom Campbell |
"Tom is a brilliant economist with intricate, first-hand knowledge of public and fiscal policy who shares my commitment to getting California's fiscal house in order," said Schwarzenegger in a prepared statement. "He is a tremendous addition to my team, and will be an invaluable advocate working to streamline government, balance the books and create a vibrant economic climate in the State."
Campbell said he was honored to accept the position and saw it as an exceptional opportunity to help the state, especially in the area of job growth.
"I am deeply grateful to the governor for having reached out to the University of California, Berkeley, and to me personally, with this opportunity to serve," said Campbell. "I am tremendously impressed with the improved optimism in our state and its climate for increased employment, for which Governor Schwarzenegger deserves a great deal of credit."
Campbell said the state's finances have taken a positive turn, "but there is still much to be done, especially in the next 18 months when the next two budgets will be prepared and presented to the legislature. Getting more people jobs in our state will be my goal as director of the Department of Finance."
In September, Campbell was named by Schwarzenegger to his newly formed Council of Economic Advisors tasked with proposing ways to make the California economy more competitive in hopes of spurring job creation. The 16-member group includes academic luminaries and two Nobel Prize winners.
Campbell is at the mid-point in his five-year appointment as the Bank of America Dean of the Haas School of Business. An acting dean will be appointed to take the helm until his return.
"Tom Campbell has led the Haas School brilliantly. Losing his leadership, even for a short time, will be felt here," said UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert J. Birgeneau. "Part of the mission of a great university is public service, so we are pleased to loan Tom to the state where his keen understanding and expertise will benefit all Californians."
Prior to joining the Haas School in 2002, Campbell was a law professor at Stanford University for 19 years. In addition to his service as a U.S. congressman, he served as a state senator in 1993.
In response to scandals that rocked corporate America just as he was taking over the helm of the Haas School, Campbell launched a major expansion of the school's efforts in the area of corporate social responsibility and business ethics. A full-fledged Center for Responsible Business was developed under his leadership.
At the Haas School, Campbell said, "Our school's mission is to graduate students with the skills to make the most of the economic opportunities available in our country and our world and the values to share what they create."
The school is the second oldest business school in the country and currently enrolls more than 2,100 students in its undergraduate and graduate academic programs, as well as hundreds of senior managers in non-degree executive development programs.
Campbell's appointment as the state's finance director follows a distinguished tradition of UC Berkeley faculty and deans being tapped for key government positions in economics, business and law.
Most recently, Janet Yellen, the Eugene E. and Catherine M. Trefethen Professor of Business at the Haas School of Business and professor of economics, was appointed president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Both Yellen and Laura Tyson, former Haas School dean, served as chair of the President's Council of Economic Advisors in the Clinton Administration.
A native of Chicago, Campbell earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in economics at the University of Chicago, and a law degree from Harvard University in 1976. He returned to the University of Chicago, earning a Ph.D. in economics there in 1980. His dissertation was the first quantitative measurement of discrimination against women in federal civil service employment.