Richard Kent Lyons (born 1961)[1][2] is an American economist and academic who has been the 12th chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley, since July 1, 2024. He is the first undergraduate alum to serve in this role. Prior to that, he was UC Berkeley’s first chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer from 2020–24 and the dean of its Haas School of Business from 2008–18.[3][4] He joined the UC Berkeley faculty in 1993 after earning his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and teaching at Columbia University for six years.
Rich Lyons | |
|---|---|
 Lyons in 2024 | |
| 12th Chancellor of University of California, Berkeley | |
| Assumed office July 1, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Carol T. Christ |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Richard Kent Lyons February 10, 1961 Palo Alto, California, U.S. |
| Education | University of California, Berkeley (BS) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (PhD) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Economics |
| Thesis | Three essays on exchange rate determination (1988) |
| Doctoral advisor | Rudiger Dornbusch |
Early life and education
editLyons was born on February 10, 1961,[5] in Palo Alto, California. He earned his B.S. in business with highest honors from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1982, and his Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987.[6]
Career
editBefore joining Haas in 1993, Lyons spent six years on the faculty at Columbia Business School. In addition to teaching, he held several leadership roles at Haas, including acting dean (2004–05), executive associate dean (2005–08), and dean (2008–18). Under his leadership as the chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer, UC Berkeley topped PitchBook’s list as the nation’s top university for the number of venture-funded startups founded by undergraduate alums. Lyons also served as the chief learning officer at Goldman Sachs in New York City from 2006–08.
Lyons’ teaching expertise is in international finance, currency markets, and financial market microstructure. He is fluent in French and, as an accomplished musician, owns several musical copyrights. He and Jennifer, his wife, have two children.
Lyons’ pioneering work as a scholar focuses on how information within a society is aggregated and expressed in price signals, which in turn helps societies make better decisions. Most of that work focuses on international exchange rates, i.e., the prices of all of one country’s goods and services relative to another. His book, The Microstructure Approach to Exchange Rates (MIT Press), was instrumental in creating the field. Other interests include leadership and culture, cryptocurrencies, and exchange rate economics.
Lyons is also known for culture leadership — anchoring institutions on distinctive values that help create a cohesive community that supports the mission. As dean of the Haas School of Business, he led an initiative that codified the school's culture around four defining leadership principles: question the status quo, confidence without attitude, students always, and beyond yourself. He is a powerful advocate for public higher education that is both accessible and excellent. He also believes culture leadership connects to the “why” of great education, including not just knowledge and thinking tools, but also opportunities that enhance personal development.
In 2018, Lyons received the Berkeley Citation, one of UC Berkeley’s highest honors, for contributions that go beyond the call of duty. In 1998, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award, Berkeley’s highest teaching honor, and he won the Earl F. Cheit Award For Excellence In Teaching at Haas six times.[7]
Other professional activities
editLyons has served on the Board of Directors of the Matthews Asia Funds, Syntax Funds, and the Ashesi University Foundation in Ghana. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has advised the International Monetary Fund, World Bank, Federal Reserve Bank, the European Central Bank, and European Commission.[8]
References
edit- ^ "Chancellor Lyons Biography | Office of the Chancellor". chancellor.berkeley.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Rich Lyons, longtime campus business, innovation leader, will be UC Berkeley's next chancellor". University of California. 2024-04-11. Retrieved 2024-10-29.
- ^ "Lyons's Haas School of Business Faculty Biography". Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
- ^ Pohl, Jason. "Rich Lyons, longtime campus business, innovation leader, will be UC Berkeley's next chancellor". Berkeley News. University of California, Berkeley. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Blaug, Mark; Vane, Howard R. (2003), Who's who in economics (4, illustrated ed.), Edward Elgar Publishing, p. 516, ISBN 1-84064-992-5
- ^ Lyons, Richard Kent (1988). Three essays on exchange rate determination (PhD thesis). Massachusetts Institute of Technology. hdl:1721.1/14706. Retrieved 2024-10-08.
- ^ "Richard K. Lyons". Berkeley Haas. Retrieved 2025-01-08.
- ^ Lyons's Official Haas Biography, from his personal website