Richard H. Holton, Professor Emeritus, former Dean
of the Haas School, and major contributor to the Lester
Center, died Monday, October 24, at the age of 79 after
battling cancer and Parkinson’s disease.
Holton was instrumental in the creation of the entrepreneurship
program at Haas. As dean (1967-76), he encouraged Leo
B. Helzel, a seasoned entrepreneur, lecturer, and alumnus
of the MBA program, to develop the first class on entrepreneurship
and business development at Haas — one of the
first classes on entrepreneurship in the nation. Dick
and Leo co-taught the class for years. They formulated
a completely new curriculum with no prior cases, curriculums,
or precedents. For that first year, they used a fake
business plan to go through the stages of founding and
business development with the students. This class inspired
the gradual development of an entrepreneurship curriculum
at Haas that is now recognized as one of the best in
the nation.
To advance the entrepreneurship curriculum at Haas even
further, Dick Holton worked with Leo Helzel to encourage
Williams-Sonoma’s Howard Lester to contribute
$1 million for the creation of the Lester Center for
Entrepreneurship and Innovation. If not for Holton’s
urging and his reputation, the Lester Center and the
entrepreneurship program would not be where they are
today.
Dick Holton’s influence was not limited to entrepreneurship.
He also created the predecessor to the current Evening-Weekend
MBA program, developed the school’s first curriculum
for international business studies, and instituted a
system of student ratings of all courses at the Haas
School. “The impact Dick has had on our school
has been lasting and fundamental. This includes our
distinctive capabilities in areas like entrepreneurship,
international and part-time MBA education. We would
be much less well positioned if not for the enormous
contributions from Dick's leadership,” said Richard
K. Lyons, acting dean of the Haas School of Business.
The Lester Center is eternally indebted to Dick Holton
for all he did to advance the study of entrepreneurship
at Haas.
