The number of students studying technology is on the rise at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and a new center launched this week will create even more opportunities for research and scholarship in technology management, the school reported this week. An $11 million gift from James L. Easton, chairman and CEO of global sports equipment manufacturers Easton Sports, will launch the new center, which expands a technology leadership program established by Easton in 2009.
The new Easton Technology Management Center will serve as a hub for innovative research and scholarship in technology leadership, develop closer ties with UCLA’s engineering and medical schools, as well as technology industry professionals, and help drive curriculum innovation in the area of technology leadership. Anderson Associate Professor Guillaume Roels will serve as the center’s faculty director.
Easton, a UCLA graduate with a degree in engineering, learned firsthand the importance of technology leadership through his career designing and manufacturing high-performance sports equipment. “I saw a need for leaders in technology, engineering and manufacturing, with knowledge and talent to create innovative products, who would benefit from UCLA Anderson by learning skills in management, communication and negotiation to run their companies,” he said in a statement.
Today, there are close to 430 participants in the Easton Technology Leadership Program, which he established in 2009, and 30 percent of the Class of 2016 will be interning at technology firms this summer, the school reports. The new Easton Technology Management Center expands the scope of the program and will provide access to the latest innovations in technology management to students with both technical and non-technical backgrounds, as well as faculty, alumni and industry professionals.
“Jim Easton has been a visionary, creating new education approaches at UCLA Anderson since he first joined our board, and later developed the Easton Technology Leadership Program,” UCLA Anderson Dean Judy Olian said in a statement. “With the creation of the Easton Technology Management Center, Jim expands the impact of his vision by positioning our students to lead and drive change in the rapidly changing tech landscape of California and the world.”
Learn more about UCLA Anderson’s new Easton Technology Management Center.
