It’s Benjamin Polak. In the grand tradition of Levin, Polak is an econ guy; he’s currently the William C. Brainard Professor and Chair of Economics and Professor of Management. He has been at Yale since 1994; you may know him as your former Game Theory prof (he’s taught ECON 159 in the fall for the past three years), and it is in that capacity that he once referred to the act of plagiarism as “pulling a Fareed.”
Indeed, the Bullblog’s very own Micah Rodman has personal experience with the name newly on everyone’s lips. When there were fewer copies of the ECON 159 final exam than there were students in the class, Rodman relates, Polak “ran from the class to the copy machine and came back half an hour later, panting, with 100 or so new exams.” Rodman also spoke fondly of Polak’s dry sense of humor. If the Game Theory education is any sort of indication, looks like we’re in for some fun with this guy.
If you’re dying for more info on da new Provost in town (i.e. Woodbridge Hall) — and we know you all are — check out his LinkedIn profile. Sadly enough, though, despite his accent — after all, Polak is British — he’s got a hotness rating of N/A on ratemyprofessors.com (despite this jaunty pic).
Stay tuned, the Bullblog will keep you posted on Polak news you can use.
