Jan Svejnar, an economics professor at the University of Pittsburgh, was selected to be WDI’s second leader. Svejnar had been one of the chief architects of the Czech Republic’s economic reforms of the early 1990s as an advisor to President Vaclav Havel. He also was co-founder of CERGI-EI in Prague, a graduate program that trained economists from the Soviet system. His sterling reputation in international economic and policy circles increased WDI’s credibility in the transition economies arena. “Jan was deeply involved in Central Europe — the portions of the former Soviet Union that were in the vanguard of becoming private sector- oriented,” noted White. During his time as executive director, Svejnar invested 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 created the only archive of data on transitional and emerging- market economies, and established a worldwide network of 170 research fellows. Under Svejnar, now a named professor at Columbia University, the Institute sponsored multiple seminars on international topics with other U-M schools and colleges as well as annual policy conferences that helped advance the global reach of WDI and the university. “I was proud that we became recognized as the gateway to the transition economies for the whole university,” Svejnar said. “I think that was important.” WDI also assisted in the development of American- style business schools in such countries as the Czech Republic, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. “It was an exciting time,” he remembered. “It was an era when we could chart a course and excel in our particular area of economics.” William Davidson, Czech President Vaclav Havel and Jan Svejnar “I was proud that we became recognized as the gateway to the transition economies for the whole university.” 25th Anniversary 17