When Bill Davidson and then-Dean Joseph White announced the creation of the William Davidson Institute in 1992, the primary goal was to help countries make the transition from a command to a free-market economy through a program of instruction, faculty and student development, and research. At the same time, the Institute would work to help U.S. businesses operate successfully in emerging market economies.
Davidson announced that his vision for the Institute was to “forge a path for those responsible for economic change in these emerging markets - that it will give them the knowledge, the methods and the blueprints for a successful transition to a market economy."
Over the past fifteen years, WDI has forged paths all around the world through its multitude of programs and initiatives—student projects, training programs, research, exchange programs, development consulting, and most recently, casewriting. .
In the early years, the Institute – under the direction of Ted Snyder – focused on the transition in central and eastern Europe after the fall of communism. The Institute focused on three major efforts: delivering annual, six-week, seminars for 50 senior business leaders, entrepreneurs and government officials from countries with economies in transition; providing internships that allowed U-M students to work in Poland and the former Soviet republics; and funding fellowships that allowed U-M scholars engage intensively on the ground.
Snyder was executive director for four years, leaving in 1996 to return full-time to the business school. At that point, looked to build up the research side of the Institute and undertook a national search to find Snyder’s replacement. The search identified Jan Svejnar, an economics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, who was recruited to be WDI’s second executive director. Svejnar had been one of the chief architects of the Czech Republic's economic reforms of the early 1990s and served as an advisor to Czech President Vaclav Havel.
“Jan came in when the Institute was just getting going and turned it into a first-class research institute,” said Robert J. Dolan, Dean of the Ross School of Business and president of the WDI board.
Svejnar was co-founder of CERGE-EI in Prague, a graduate program that trains economists from the former Soviet bloc countries. It is the only American-style Ph.D. program and research center in economics in Central and Eastern Europe. Under Svejnar, the Institute helped establish or assisted in the development of American-style business schools in emerging markets such as the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan and the Ukraine.
During his time as executive director, Svejnar invested heavily in creating an internal research capability. One success was a transition economics working paper series that ranked among the most-downloaded in the world. He also refocused the executive education program and centralized administration of the international MAP projects on behalf of the school.
“We became the gateway to emerging markets for the business school and the entire university,” Svejnar said.
During this time, WDI also brought on former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as the Institute’s first distinguished scholar. She hosted a number of roundtable discussions on Capitol Hill and she spoke to the University of Michigan community on several occasions regarding international issues of the day.
After eight years at the helm of WDI, Svejnar stepped down to devote himself full-time to research.
By the early 2000s, the transition in central and eastern Europe had progressed significantly and businesses were encountering cutting edge issues in other geographies, such as China and India. Theses new global trends led to a shift in strategy at the Institute.
In May 2004, the WDI Board of Directors announced that Robert Kennedy, then serving as the Institute’s associate director, would become WDI’s third executive director. Kennedy, who also is a professor of business administration, came to the Institute in September 2003 from Harvard, where he had been an associate professor of business administration. Prior to that, he worked in more than a dozen countries as a management consultant and venture capitalist.
Responding to changes in the international business environment, Kennedy de-emphasized academic discipline and geography (economics and central Europe) as organizing principles, and redirected the research effort toward broad trends. These included: the globalization of services; doing business at the base of the pyramid; and social enterprise. He insisted that these efforts span both academic and practitioner applications, and that they collaborate with other initiatives at the Institute.
Kennedy also invested in building capabilities of the Institute’s Development Consulting Services (DCS) and pushed WDI’s Executive Education (EE) to grow and become self-sufficient.
The strategy had born fruit. DCS has quadrupled in size, is a leader in Base of the Pyramid, policy management, and higher education development programs for USAID and other development agencies. Executive Education has more than doubled revenues and tripled the number of executives served each year.
The Institute also is seeing much closer cooperation amongst initiatives. For example DCS and EE have worked together to provide training for policy makers and business school capacity building for the Government of Rwanda. DCS and two of WDI’s research initiatives have teamed on a market based poverty alleviation project of the United States Agency for International Development. These collaborations raise the Institute’s profile and extend its reach.
Kennedy has also expanded programmatic support for international activities at the Ross School and across the University. The Institute’s support of student Multidisciplinary Action Projects (MAPs) and summer internships has grown substantially, and WDI now supports internships and field research efforts at the Schools of Public Health and Medicine.
Looking forward, Kennedy sees a bright future, with growth in several directions. He reports that several new research initiatives are being considered. He expressed optimism that the new Educators’ Outreach initiative, set for a public launch by spring 2008, will broaden WDI’s impact and raise its profile in the educator community.
He also predicts continued strong growth for Development Consulting Services and Executive Education. “DCS is now leading substantial, high impact projects in developing countries around the world. We have a strong reputation in our focus areas and this work really extends the Institute’s reach and impact on the ground. Exec Ed has grown tremendously by adding geographies and programs. We’re hitting on all cylinders in out traditional niches and there is tremendous potential in the “training government official” segment.” Finally, we have restructured and expanded the Institute’s support for international program across the University. We are much better integrated into the life of the school.
“Mr. Davidson has been extremely supportive.” Kennedy said. “His generosity has created a unique place that links the best of U-M with the challenges in developing countries around the world. WDI is a special place that has grown and evolved in unexpected ways over these past 15 years. It’s an exciting place to be and I look forward to the next 15 years.”