Mark A. Wolfson

Adjunct Professor in Accounting and Finance
Academic Area:
Mark A. Wolfson

Bio

Mark A. Wolfson holds the title of Adjunct Professor at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he has been a faculty member since 1977, including a term as Associate Dean, and formerly held the title of Dean Witter Professor. He has also taught at the Harvard Business School and the University of Chicago and has been a Visiting Scholar at the Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Dr. Wolfson has been a Research Associate at The National Bureau of Economic Research since 1988, serves on the Board of Advisors and Executive Committee of The Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, the Advisory Board of the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford and as an Advisor to the Investment Committee of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Mark is also a Founder and Managing Partner of Jasper Ridge Partners, a wealth management firm, and President of Jasper Ridge Charitable.  From 1995 to 2013, Mark was affiliated with the Robert M. Bass/Oak Hill organizations.  During his tenure with these organizations, he played key roles in the formation of Jasper Ridge Strategic Partners, Jasper Ridge Diversified, and Oak Hill Capital Partners, a private equity firm.  He has served on the Boards of Directors of numerous public and private companies.

Academic Degrees

  • PhD, University of Texas, Austin, 1977
  • MAS, 1974
  • BS, University of Illinois, 1973

Academic Appointments

  • Adjunct Professor and Former Professor and Associate Dean, 1977–present
  • Thomas Henry Carroll-Ford Foundation Visiting Professor of Business Administration, Harvard University, 1988–1989
  • Ford Foundation Visiting Associate Professor, University of Chicago, 1981–1982

Awards and Honors

  • Wildman Medal, 1991
  • Notable Contribution Award (one given annually by AAA/AICPA) to Accounting Literature, 1989 and 1992
  • Distinguished Teaching Award, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 1990
  • Pomerance Prize (CBOE) for Excellence in Options Research, 1981

Service to the Profession

    • Advisor to the Investment Committee, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
    • Executive Committee, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research

    Professional Experience

    • Founder and Managing Partner: Jasper Ridge Partners
    • Senior Advisor: Oak Hill Capital Management
    • Research Associate: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1988

    Research Statement

    Before becoming an investment professional, Mark published extensively on subjects ranging from the financial structure of, and incentive arrangements in, business organizations; to taxes and business strategy; to the effect of information disclosures on the valuation of financial claims. He has won research awards in each of these areas. His current interests, in addition to those stated above, include the dynamics of the philanthropic ecosystem and the industrial organization of the global private equity and investment management industries. He teaches courses on strategic philanthropy and investment management.

    Journal Articles

    Paul Brest, Ronald Gilson, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Corporation Law
    2019 Vol. 44 Issue 2 Pages 205
    Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Investment Management
    2013 Vol. 11 Issue 4
    Srikant Datar, Richard Frankel, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Law, Economics and Organization
    2001 Vol. 17 Issue 1 Pages 201-238
    Mary E. Barth, William H. Beaver (1940–2024), Mark A. Wolfson
    Financial Analysts Journal
    1990 Vol. 46 Issue 3 Pages 53-60
    Myron S. Scholes, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Financial Economics
    September 1989 Vol. 24 Issue 1 Pages 7–35
    William H. Beaver (1940–2024), Carol Eger, Stephen Ryan, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Accounting Research
    1989 Vol. 27 Issue 2 Pages 157-178
    Joel S. Demski, James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson
    Accounting Review
    1984 Vol. 59 Issue 1 Pages 16-34
    M. Laurentius Marais, James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Accounting Research
    1984 Vol. 22 Pages 87-114
    James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Financial Economics
    1984 Vol. 13 Issue 2 Pages 223--252
    James M. Patell, Roman L. Weil, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Legal Studies
    1982 Vol. 11 Issue 2 Pages 341-364
    James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson
    Accounting Review
    1982 Vol. 57 Issue 3 Pages 509-527
    James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Accounting Research
    1981 Vol. 19 Issue 2 Pages 434-458
    James M. Patell, Mark A. Wolfson
    Journal of Accounting and Economics
    1979 Vol. 1 Issue 2 Pages 117-140

    Books

    Myron S. Scholes, Mark A. Wolfson, Merle Erickson, Michelle Hanlon, Edward Maydew, Terry Shevlin
    Prentice Hall
    Upper Saddle River
    2015

    School News

    May 22, 2017
    The recent award dinner also celebrated the generosity of fellowship donors whose gifts financially support Stanford GSB students.