Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance
Overview
The Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University is an important new chapter in the law school's pioneering efforts in corporate governance. Funded by a gift from legendary venture capitalist Arthur Rock and his wife Toni Rembe Rock, the Rock Center was founded at Stanford in 2006 with three objectives:
- First, through conferences and seminars, engage key academics, regulators and professionals from the business and legal communities in the debate about corporate governance, bridging the gap between theory and practice;
- Second, through research, online resources, and educational programs, the Rock Center hopes to advance intellectual understanding of the governance process;
- Third, by developing new educational and course materials, the Rock Center hopes to strengthen corporate governance as an independent area of teaching and scholarship at law schools and business schools worldwide.
The Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University was created with the vision that advances in the understanding and practice of corporate governance are most likely to occur in a cross–disciplinary environment where economists, lawyers, financial experts, political scientists, engineers and practitioners can meet and work together. Stanford University, with leading schools of communications, economics, engineering, law and political science, can readily assemble cross–disciplinary teams. The Rock Center's goal is to tap this wealth of expertise to advance the practice and study of corporate governance and become an important voice in the debate over governance, both domestically and internationally.
Stanford Law School has more than a decade of investment in education, research and training for lawyers, practitioners, company officers and regulators who work in corporate governance. Its strengths in corporate law and business led the law school to initiate the executive education program named Directors' College in 1993. This annual event was the first program to bring together leading CEOs, directors, journalists, scholars and regulators for a rigorous examination of corporate governance concerns. It blends the latest information on critical issues facing every board today with seasoned perspectives on best boardroom practices.
The Rock Center's proposed initiatives include a diverse set of events that include seminars, conferences, and guest speakers addressing real world governance practices. The Rock Center will provide the focal point for sustained research and sponsor of key events that attract top academics, policy makers, practitioners and regulators. The center will develop and offer executive-level programs for outside audiences who shape the debate on governance.
Also planned is sponsorship of distinguished visitors at Stanford. Similar to a traditional fellowship, these prominent individuals with expertise and interest in corporate governance would spend two or more weeks in residence at Stanford, giving lectures, workshops, and teaching classes. The Rock Center will also attract leading practitioners and policymakers to speak at Stanford, including prominent executives from the local business, law and venture communities
Additionally, to educate the next generation of leaders on the new standards of corporate governance, the Rock Center faculty will develop new courses for business and law students. These will emphasize the financial, legal and ethical issues of corporate governance— in theory and in practice.
News & Announcements
- Do Stockholders Really Know What’s Best?
- 2009 Directorship 100
- New Hostility For An Old Delaware Antitakeover Law
- CalPERS And CalSTRS: Moving Beyond ‘Male, Pale, Stale’
- Commentary: Do Shareholder Class Actions Make Sense?
- Lehman Anniversary
- Tasting The Difference In A Cross-Border Deal
- Bank Of America Defends Its S.E.C. Settlement
- BofA submits brief to Rakoff
- Business Groups Gear Up To Fight SEC Proxy Access Proposal
- Sotomayor's Stance On Business Is Moderate
- What the Boss Makes: Silicon Valley Companies Relying Less On Stock Options
- Sotomayor’s Appellate Opinions Are Unpredictable, Lawyers and Scholars Say
- Flawed Credit Ratings Reap Profits As Regulators Fail Investors
- Is “The Government Made Me Do It” A Valid Legal Defense?
- SEC Chief: Need Tighter Oversight Of Rating Firms
- Rating The Rating Agencies
- Bonuses And Bailouts
- Madoff Pleads Guilty To All 11 Charges
- Talk Of Uptick Rule's Return - And Alternatives
- The Inside Story on the Breakdown at the SEC
- Hearst Threatens To Shut Down San Francisco Chronicle
- Economic Crisis 'Is As Bad As They Come'.
- Going To Court After Stocks Take A Dive
- Audit Firms' Global Ambitions Come Home To Roost
- Stanford Center On The Legal Profession - Now Open
- SEC Reportedly Looking Into Steve Jobs' Health
- Irate Investors Filing More Class-Action Lawsuits
- Apple, Yahoo Boards Face Criticism
- Apple CEO Steve Jobs Takes Medical Leave
- Apple Succession Plan: Nobody's Business?
- Steve Jobs May Have Pancreas Removed After Cancer
- Lawsuits Could Fly Over Jobs' Exit
- Yahoo's Choice For CEO Sparks Both Concern, Praise
- Class Action Suits Surge In Wake Of Credit Crisis
- Apple’s Jobs Explains His Weight Loss
- Was Apple 'Adequate But Late' On Jobs?
- Economy In Turmoil And Bailout Plans Adrift
- Experts Offer Obama Ideas On Economy
- Turning Economy Around A Daunting Task For Obama
- 10 Economic Challenges For New President
- Private Securities Litigation: Important Deterrent or Wasteful Churn?
- Default Swaps Draw Joint U.S.-New York Inquiry
- Bracing For A Long Winter
- Timeout Called In Wachovia Takeover Battle
- What Goes Before a Fall? On Wall Street, Reassurance
- Feds Respond To Financial Crisis With Massive Intervention
- Wall Street’s Fears On Lehman Bros. Batter Markets
- False Bankruptcy Report Shows Risks Of Online News
- Report: Market volatility sparks increase in securities class action filings
- Microsoft Officially Ends Bid To Buy Yahoo
- Who's Watching the Watchdogs?
- Lifting The Lid: New Study Takes Aim At Governance Grades
- Study Hits Governance Ratings’ Effectiveness
- Time And Money Spent Improving Governance Doesn’t Improve Shareholder Value, Says Stanford study
- Jim Chanos: A Short-Seller Comes To Stanford
- Hedge Funds Can Vote At CSX Meeting
- A way To View Icahn In Microsoft-Yahoo Battle: Just Win, Baby
- Icahn's Gate Crashers May be Asked To Stay
- Icahn Could Prompt Microsoft To Reconsider Yahoo Bid
- Yahoo Board Faces Angry Investors
- How Far Can Fair Value Go?
- UTIMCO - Investment Directors Seek To Recommend Interests In Which They Have A Stake.
- There's The Plan, Then The Execution
- Bear Stearns And Federal Bailouts
- High-Profile Trial Lawyer Agrees To Guilty Plea
- Stearns Investors Bear A Grudge
- Amid Bear Stearns Rubble, Lawyers Swoop In
- The Microsoft-Yahoo! Mating Dance
- Defense Lawyers Give Their Post Mortem On JDS Uniphase Securities Class Action
- Small Law Firm’s Big Role In Bundling Mortgages
- Stanford Rocks
- If Everyone’s Finger-Pointing, Who’s to Blame?
- Are Big Bonuses Still Due After A Bust?
- Majority Voting Can Beat Proxies - Easier Way to Influence Boards, Says Ex-regulator
- The Next Great Backdating Trial
- Delphi Exec Bonuses: $216M
- Perform-Or-Die Culture Leaves Thin Talent Pool For Top Wall Street Jobs
- Facebook’s Stock Options
- Heat Turned Up On Countrywide CEO
- Hellman On Private Equity: Big Egos And Testosterone
- Fixing the Greed in Private Equity
- Supreme Court Weighs Third Parties' Fraud Liability
- Big-Money Battle Pits Business vs. Trial Bar
- In Stoneridge Arguments, Supreme Court Justice Kennedy Plays Typical Role Of ‘Man In The Middle,’ With Secondary Liability Hanging In The Balance
- Fewer Suits Charge Securities Fraud
- The Directorship 100
- Simplifying Financial Reporting
- Study Finds Fewer Corporate Class-Action Lawsuits
- Teacher Fund Gives Billion-Dollar Leeway To Its Staff
- SEC Names 16 Members To Accounting Advisory Panel
- Ganging Up On The Lawyers
- Playing Fantasy Law Firm IPO Can Be Fun
- Whole Foods CEO Serves Up Free-Range Rancor
- Immigration Bill
- Tellabs: Securities Lawyers React
- Changing Times For Securities Litigators
- Firms Must Adapt To Shrinking Securities Fraud Litigation
- Supreme Court Sides With Banks
- Immigration Talk
Publications
- Report of the Task Force of the ABA Section of Business Law Corporate Governance Committee on Delineation of Governance Roles & Responsibilities, (August 2009)
- Ronald J. Gilson and Reinier Kraakman, The Directors Guild, New York Times, June 8, 2009, pg. A19.
- Robert Daines, Ian Gow, and David Larcker, Rating the Ratings: How Good Are Commercial Governance Ratings? Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance, (June 2008)
- Peter Clapman, Walking the Walk on Corporate Governance, Pensions & Investments, August 6, 2007
- Joseph A. Grundfest, The Class-Action Market, Wall Street Journal, February 7, 2007, p. A15.
Rock Center Faculty
- F. Daniel Siciliano
- Faculty Director, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance
SLS: Associate Dean for Executive Education & Special Programs - siciliano@stanford.edu
- 650 725.9045
- Robert M. Daines
- SLS: Pritzker Professor of Law and Business
- 650 736.2684
- Joseph A. Grundfest
- SLS: W. A. Franke Professor of Law and Business
- grundfest@stanford.edu
- 650 723.0458
- David F. Larcker
- GSB: James Irvin Miller Professor of Accounting
- Larcker_David@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 725.6159
Other Affiliated Faculty
- Anat Admati
- GSB: Joseph McDonald Professor of Finance and Economics
- admati_anat@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 723.4987
- Joseph Bankman
- SLS: Ralph M. Parsons Professor of Law and Business
- jbankman@stanford.edu
- 650 725.3825
- G. Marcus Cole
- SLS: Wm. Benjamin Scott and Luna M. Scott Professor of Law
- gmcole@stanford.edu
- 650 723.0615
- Richard Craswell
- SLS: William F. Baxter-Visa International Professor of Law
- rcraswel@stanford.edu
- 650 725.8542
- Darrell Duffie
- GSB: Dean Witter Distinguished Professor of Finance
- duffie@stanford.edu
- 650 723.1976
- Ronald J. Gilson
- SLS: Charles J. Meyers Professor of Law and Business
- rgilson@stanford.edu
- 650 723.0614
- Joy Ishii
- GSB: Assistant Professor of Finance
- ishii_joy@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 724.6376
- Alan Jagolinzer
- GSB: Assistant Professor of Accounting
- jagolinzer@stanford.edu
- 650 725.2741
- Dirk Jenter
- GSB: Assistant Professor of Finance
- djenter@stanford.edu
- 650 498.4411
- Ron Kasznik
- GSB: Associate Professor of Accounting
- kasznik_ron@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 725.9740
- Michael Klausner
- SLS: Nancy and Charles Munger Professor of Business and Professor of Law
- klausner@stanford.edu
- 650 723.6433
- Maureen F. McNichols
- GSB: Marriner S. Eccles Professor of Public and Private Management; Professor (by courtesy) of Law
- mcnichols_maureen@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 723.0833
- Michael Ostrovsky
- GSB: Assistant Professor of Economics
- ostrovsky@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 724.7280
- Paul Oyer
- GSB: Associate Professor of Economics
- pauloyer@stanford.edu
- 650 736.1047
- Francisco Pérez.González
- GSB: Assistant Professor of Finance
- francisco.perez@stanford.edu
- 650 721.1283
- Jeffrey Pfeffer
- GSB: Thomas D. Dee II Professor of Organizational Behavior
- pfeffer_jeffrey@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 723.2915
- Paul C. Pfleiderer
- GSB: C.O.G. Miller Distinguished Professor of Finance;
Professor of Law by courtesy - pfleiderer_paul@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 723.4495
- Joseph D. Piotroski
- GSB: Associate Professor of Accounting
- jpiotros@stanford.edu
- 650 498.6988
- A. Mitchell Polinsky
- SLS: Josephine Scott Crocker Professor of Law and Economics
- polinsky@stanford.edu
- 650 723.0886
- Madhav Rajan
- GSB: Gregor G. Peterson Professor of Accounting;
Professor of Law by courtesy - mrajan@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 724.1546
- Alan O. Sykes
- SLS: James and Patricia Kowal Professor of Law
- asykes@stanford.edu
- 650 724.0178
Program Contacts
- F. Daniel Siciliano
- Faculty Director
- siciliano@stanford.edu
- 650 725.9045
- Evan Epstein
- Associate Director
- evan.epstein@law.stanford.edu
- 650 724.2879
- Trish Gertridge
- Director, Program Group
- tgertridge@law.stanford.edu
- 650 725.5001
- Michelle E. Gutman
- Associate Director, Research Programs
- gutman_michelle@gsb.stanford.edu
- 650 736.7420
Events
- Stanford Institutional Investors’ Forum
- December 17, 2009 from 8:30 am - 2:30 pm
- Fiduciary College 2010
- March 25, 2010 - March 26, 2010
- 16th Annual Directors' College
- June 20, 2010 - June 22, 2010
Recorded & Past Events
November 2009
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Rock Center for Corporate Governance Faculty Lunch with Anat Admati and Paul Pfleiderer
-
How Technology Impacts the Boardroom
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"The Credit Crisis: Its Roots and Aftermath" with Tom Russo, Former Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer of Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc.
-
Voter Funded Media: Governance Reform for Corporations and Democracies - A Rock Center Lunch with Mark Latham
-
Legal Challenges in an Age of Robotics
-
Rock Center for Corporate Governance Student Lunch with Commissioner Preston DuFauchard
October 2009
-
How Framing Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Issues Into Investment Decisions Can Improve Performance Investment Portfolios
-
Rock Center lunch for students with Donald Humphreys, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, ExxonMobil
September 2009
June 2009
April 2009
-
Rock Center Faculty Lunch on Tenure Voting with Toni Rembe and Professor Edward B. Rock, Penn-Law
-
Rock Center Dinner: Michael Klausner, Stanford Law School and Boris Feldman, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati [by invitation only]
March 2009
-
Rock Center Faculty Lunch on Zombie Banks with Professors Jeremy Bulow, Graduate School of Business, Robert Hall, Economics Dept and Susan Woodward, Sand Hill Econometrics
-
Fourth Annual Morrison & Foerster Lecture
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Faculty Seminar on Financial Crisis with H. Rodgin Cohen, Chairman-Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
February 2009
January 2009
-
Perceptions on US Capital Market Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (by invitation only)
-
Rock Center Faculty Lunch with Professor David Larcker
-
Fiduciary College at Stanford Law School
December 2008
October 2008
-
How Corporations Respond to the Current Crisis in Capitalism: Speaker Ben Heineman
-
Rock Center Faculty Lunch with Professor Darrell Duffie, Graduate School of Business
-
Containing the Credit Crisis: What Went Wrong and What's Next?
September 2008
August 2008
June 2008
-
Directors' College 2008
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Governance Lunch for Faculty with Business School Professors Anat Admati and Paul Pfleiderer
May 2008
April 2008
-
Governance Lunch for Faculty with Professor Ron Gilson
-
Did "Stoneridge" Kill Scheme Liability?
-
Governance Lunch for Students: Computer Hacking and The US Law on Insider Trading
-
Women on Board: How Women Are Gaining Ground in Corporate Governance
March 2008
February 2008
-
Delaware or California: Venue, Forum Shopping and Parallel Proceedings in Fiduciary and M&A Litigation
-
Governance Lunch for Faculty with Nicolas Economou, CEO of H5
-
New Directions for Corporate Governance
-
Stanford Law Society of Silicon Valley and the Stanford Graduate School of Business
January 2008
December 2007
October 2007
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The Art and Ethics of the Internal Investigation
-
Rock Center Governance Lunch for Students - Frank Zarb and Arthur Rock
-
"How to Run a Private Equity Firm" Warren Hellman on Corporate Governance and Best Practices in Private Equity
-
Governance Lunch for Faculty with Rock Center Director David F. Larcker
August 2007
June 2007
May 2007
-
Stanford Law School Fiduciary College Seminar Series
-
Rock Center Faculty Lunch with Professor Robert M. Daines and Joseph A. Grundfest, Director's of the Rock Center
April 2007
-
Governance Lunch for Students: Can One Person Make a Difference?
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"Shaping the Debate on Executive Compensation"
-
"Make Me an Offer": Sam Zell and the $39 Billion Buyout of Equity Office Properties
March 2007
-
Backdating and the New Technology of White Collar Securities Fraud Enforcement
-
Governance Lunch for Faculty with Professor Ilya Strebulaev, Stanford Graduate School of Business
-
Governance Lunch for Students: Corporate Governance in the Global Economy - The Sun Never Sets on the General Counsel
February 2007
Press Releases
LEB/Rock Center Affiliates
The LEB/Rock Center Affiliates contribute through sponsorship and program input on an annual basis and support sustained scholarship, policy relevant research and teaching, and program development that bridges the gap between academia and the real world. In return, affiliates and their clients have access to the Law School's established series of high value, leading edge executive programs, exclusive roundtables, working groups and special events.
As a direct result of affiliate support, Stanford Law School is today a nationally recognized leader in the field of law and business, and has the preeminent law school program for senior executive, director and institutional investor education.
LEB/Rock Center Venture Circle
LEB/Rock Center Program Partners
LEB/Rock Center Program Associates
Sponsorship Levels
Affiliates of the Stanford Program in Law, Economics & Business (LEB) have the opportunity to formally participate at two levels of support and requisite benefits: LEB Venture Circle Members and LEB Program Partners.1
LEB/Rock Center Venture Circle ($75,000 annually for law firms; $100,000 annually for corporations)
LEB/Rock Center Venture Circle members provide seed funding and ongoing support for a wide range of policy and empirical research projects housed within the Program in Law, Economics & Business including:
- Stanford Securities Class Action Clearinghouse
- Open Source Corporate Governance Reporting System (OSCGRS) at Stanford Law School
- Stanford Institutional Investors Forum Governance Standards Project
LEB/Rock Center Venture Circle representatives participate on project advisory boards and are directly involved in the development of empirical database and reporting platforms, indices and other analytics, as well as policy white papers that aim to raise professional understanding and public awareness of legal, business and ethical challenges, and promote informed public policy at the intersection of law, economics and business.
Membership in the LEB/Rock Center Venture Circle also includes the full (and in some cases enhanced) range of annual LEB/Rock Center Program Partner benefits:
- Two prepaid scholarships per LEB/Rock Center program/series offered during a 12-month period. These scholarships may be used by anyone of your choosing, such as directors of your corporation, business executives from your company, members of your legal department, and clients.
- Priority registration for all LEB/Rock Center programs, and a 10% discount on program tuition for all registration referrals.
- Recognition in all LEB/Rock Center printed and on-line program materials; mention at all appropriate public receptions and forums.
- Participation in annual LEB/Rock Center program planning and speaker recruitment session.
- Up to 2 speakers from firm invited for LEB/Rock Center, Rock Center or general Law School speakers series.2
- Up to 2 senior partners/executives invited to participate in LEB/Rock Center conference panels and exclusive, invitation-only industry working groups.2
- Opportunity to nominate and recruit executive level clients for conference keynote and speaking opportunities.2
- Exclusive meal sponsorship opportunities during LEB/Rock Center conferences and programs.3
- Custom program sponsorship opportunities in partnership with LEB/Rock Center.4
LEB/Rock Center Program Partners ($25,000 to $49,999 annually)
- One prepaid scholarship per LEB/Rock Center program/series offered during a 12-month period. These scholarships may be used by anyone of your choosing, such as directors of your corporation, business executives from your company, members of your legal department, and clients.
- Priority registration for all LEB programs, and a 10% discount on program tuition for all registration referrals.
- Recognition in all LEB/Rock Center printed and on-line program materials; mention at all appropriate public receptions and forums.
- Participation in annual LEB/Rock Center program planning and speaker recruitment session.
- 1 speaker from firm/company invited forLEB/Rock Center or general Law School speakers series.2
- 1 senior partner/client invited to participate in LEB/Rock Center conference panels and exclusive, invitation-only industry working groups.2
- Exclusive meal sponsorship opportunities during LEB/Rock Center conferences and programs.3
Contact Information
For more information about the LEB/Rock Center Affiliates Program, please contact:
Nancy Easterbrook
Assistant Director of Development, Corporate & Foundation Relations
Stanford Law School
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
Phone: 650 725.4247
Fax: 650 725.9786
NEasterB@law.stanford.edu
For more information about the program, please contact:
F. Daniel Siciliano
Faculty Director, Arthur & Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance
SLS: Associate Dean for Executive Education & Special Programs
Stanford Law School
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305-8610
650 725.9045 (phone); 650 352.5304 (fax)
siciliano@law.stanford.edu
1 Companies and law firms that contribute $10,000 to $24,999 annually will be recognized as LEB/Rock Center Program Associates and will receive priority registration for LEB/Rock Center programs, a 10% discount on registration referrals, and recognition on the LEB/Rock Center web site.
2 All program content and speaker selection for LEB programs are at the discretion of Law School faculty director(s). Only one speaker placement guaranteed per conference or program.
3 Exclusive meal sponsorship price points are $15,000 for breakfasts, $25,000 for lunches, and $50,000 for dinners.
4 Two custom program slots are available per calendar year, and catering, logistics and staffing costs are the responsibility of the external sponsor. Final program content and speaker selection are at the discretion of Law School faculty director(s).
Educational Resources
Contact Information
- Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance
-
Crown Quadrangle
559 Nathan Abbott Way
Stanford, CA 94305 - rockcenterinfo@law.stanford.edu
Lists
- Sign up for the Rock Center E-mail List
- Sign up for the Mail List
Working Paper Series
Corporate Governance
- LLM in Corporate Governance
- Corporate Governance Research Project at the Graduate School of Business