As the year 2000 races toward a close, it is worth looking back on the past decade. The year 1990 marked a nadir in the city’s recent fortunes. The stock market was stuck in neutral, the real estate market was mired in a slump, and jobs were leaving New York faster than Knick fans file out of Madison Square Garden when the home team is down 30 points in the fourth quarter

Such were the forces arrayed against the city that some began to question the long-term viability of our economy. Of course, the doomsayers proved to be wrong. Indeed, New York proved to be one of the greatest beneficiaries of the burgeoning digital economy. And with the Dow near a record high, unemployment sliding to historical lows, and the real estate market in the stratosphere, New York is most definitely back.

Here at the Stern School we have literally been in the middle of it all. Throughout the 1990s, a new industry sprouted up, first to the north of us, in the Flatiron District, and then to the south of us, around Wall Street. Today, established dot-coms and their younger sisters and brothers are taking root in every part of New York, from Long Island City, Queens, to the western-most reaches of Chelsea, from 125th St. in Harlem to Midtown office towers.

We’ve also been in the intellectual and strategic middle of this transformation. Stern has led the way in developing courses related to the Internet and e-commerce, such as FinDotCom, which teaches a financial analysis of new economy companies and Data Mining and Knowledge Systems, which opens a new door into the consumer psyche gleaned from data related to behavior on the Internet. This fall, we have introduced a new co-major in Entrepreneurship and Innovation that will prepare students to take an entrepreneurial role, whether in a startup firm or in an incubator within an established corporation.

Our ability to be in touch with the forces altering our economy can’t simply be chalked up to geography, although our location certainly helps. Rather, it’s as much a matter of temperament and worldview. We at the Stern School have always prided ourselves on being part of the city, and thus part of the world. Our campus is not set off from the city by gates or walls. The heart of our campus – Washington Square Park – is a public space. We are not only in the city, but of the city.

The last decade has brought tremendous changes to the campus and the city we call home. The contents of this issue of Sternbusiness provide us with a framework for understanding how we got here, and where we’re going. Our engaged – and wired – community of scholars, faculty, and students is looking forward to the coming decade. And we’ve got one of the best seats in the house.

George Daly
Dean