Deirdre Newman A UC Irvine Graduate School...

Deirdre Newman

A UC Irvine Graduate School of Management professor has been

honored with an endowed fellowship in her name courtesy of two former

students.

Judy Rosener, an acclaimed expert on gender differences in the

workplace, received the honor in late December.

Richard and Darcy Kopcho, who graduated from the school in 1980,

donated $200,000 to the business school for the endowment.

In addition, another alumna, Martha Newkirk, started a small

committee to raise another $200,000 for the fellowship. The committee

has raised $94,000 more already.

The endowed fellowship, called the Dr. Judy B. Rosener “Spirit of

Difference” Fellowship, will allow one student to be funded each

year. Criteria includes demonstrating an interest in gender and

cultural diversity and having overcome significant personal or

economic obstacles.

Rosener said she was floored by her former students’ generosity.

“I was shocked,” Rosener exclaimed. “When most people give money,

they give it in their own name.”

Rosener’s path to academia was not a traditional one. She was a

Newport Beach housewife raising three kids when UC Irvine opened its

doors in the 1960s.

“I had no intention of ever having a career or job,” said Rosener,

who still lives in Newport. ‘My kids were in high school, and I said,

‘Maybe I should go back to school for fun.’”

Rosener had so much fun taking classes part-time at UCI that she

ended up getting a master’s in political science from California

State University, Fullerton. She went on to Claremont for a

doctorate, which she received at 50.

She began teaching at UCI’s business school in the 1980s. She was

one of the first to announce a difference in the way women lead

companies in a controversial article she wrote for the Harvard

Business Review. She also co-authored a book on how to manage a

diverse workforce and then wrote a book called “America’s Competitive

Secrets,” about why women are sometimes at a disadvantage in the

workplace.

She is working on another book about gender and hormones.