SDSU Corporate Governance Institute Names
Internationally Renowned Experts to Board of Advisors

Contact: Randy Carmical, Director of Communications
(619) 594-0206 Randy.Carmical@sdsu.edu

SAN DIEGO, Tuesday, March 13, 2007 – San Diego State University College of Business Administration announced today the formation of a board of advisors for its Corporate Governance Institute consisting of internationally recognized leaders.  “We are extremely fortunate to have Nell Minow, Cynthia Richson, Garry Ridge, Hugh Friedman, and Gail Naughton as inaugural members of our new board,” said Corporate Governance Institute Director Lori Ryan. “They will help to guide the institute’s development and application of responsible corporate governance practices.”

Nell Minow, editor and co-founder of The Corporate Library, based in Portland, Maine, was named one of the 30 most influential investors of 2002 by Smart Money magazine and, in 2003, was dubbed “the queen of good corporate governance” by Business Week online. Prior to co-founding The Corporate Library, Minow was a principal of Lens Investment Management, a $100 million investment firm that took positions in underperforming companies and used shareholder activism to increase their value. Her other professional experience includes serving as president of Institutional Shareholder Services and as an attorney at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Office of Management and Budget, and the Department of Justice. She has authored more than 200 articles and co-authored three books on corporate governance. Minow is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the University of Chicago Law School.

Cynthia L. Richson is president of the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC), a provider of independent governance research for investors headquartered in Washington, D.C.  Prior to joining IRRC, Richson was the Corporate Governance Officer for the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS).  In 2004, she was appointed to the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Standing Advisory Group, and she was elected to the Council of Institutional Investors Board of Directors in 2005.  Richson previously served as the director of corporate governance for the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB), and created the nationally recognized Directors’ Summit in 2001.  Before joining SWIB, she held several executive positions in the insurance industry.  Richson earned a Juris Doctorate with Honors from the IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law in 1990 and an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1998. 

Garry Ridge is president and chief executive officer of the WD-40 Company headquartered in San Diego.  Mr. Ridge has been with WD-40 since 1987 in various management positions, including executive vice president and chief operating officer and vice president of international business.  He has worked directly with WD-40 in 50 countries.  A native of Australia, Mr. Ridge has served as national vice president of the Australian Marketing Institute and the Australian Automotive Aftermarket Association.  In 2003, Ridge was awarded Director of the Year for Enhancement of Economic Value by the San Diego Corporate Directors Forum, and, in 2004, received the Arthur E. Hughes Career Achievement Award from the University of San Diego.  Ridge received his diploma in retail/wholesale distribution from the Sydney Technical College in Sydney, Australia, and received an M.S. in Executive Leadership from the University of San Diego in June 2001. 

C. Hugh Friedman is a professor of law at the University of San Diego. After beginning his legal career as a California Deputy Attorney General, he became in-house corporate counsel for a San Diego-based corporate conglomerate and joined the faculty of the then-fledgling USD School of Law. He later practiced business law with Friedman, Kahan, Dysart & Frasier, where he was senior partner, before joining the USD faculty full time in 1977. Among his publications is the widely used, two-volume California Practice Guide: Corporations.  He is past president of the San Diego County Bar Association, the Legal Aid Society of San Diego, and the California State Board of Education. Friedman was appointed by President Clinton to the White House Conference on Small Business Commission and served on the California Air Resources Board.  Dr. Friedman is a long-time member of San Diego’s Corporate Directors’ Forum, serving on its Board of Directors and its program and corporate governance committees.  Previously a director of several public and private companies, he currently serves on the Board of Directors of the San Diego Padres Baseball Company.  Friedman received his A.B. from Yale University in 1953, J.D. from Stanford University in 1956, and LL.D. from the University of San Diego in 1976.

Gail K. Naughton, dean of the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University, was co-founder of Advanced Tissue Sciences and co-inventor of its core technology. During her 15-year tenure there, Naughton held a variety of key management positions, including president and chief operating officer, and served on the firm’s board of directors.  She serves as a director for several not-for-profit foundations, including the City of Hope, and sits on the scientific and industry advisory boards of leading universities, including the Georgia Institute of Technology.  She also is a member of the board of directors of the California Health Institute and the San Diego World Trade Center, as well as being a member of the Mayor’s Science and Technology Council.  She is currently on the board of one private biotechnology company, DermTech International, and two public companies, C.R. Bard, Inc., and SYS Technologies Inc.  Naughton earned her M.S. in histology and Ph.D. in Basic Medical Sciences from the New York University Medical Center.  She earned an Executive MBA in 2001 from the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles.

About the Corporate Governance Institute
The Corporate Governance Institute (CGI), established in 1998, is an education and research center dedicated to the study and application of responsible corporate governance principles. The mission of the CGI is to enhance the skills of corporate directors, investors, and senior executives through research, training, and curriculum development. CGI seeks to support the College of Business Administration, San Diego State University, and members of the local, national, and international communities in matters related to corporate governance.  Its network of Research Fellows includes Frank Partnoy of the University of San Diego School of Law, Dr. Ann Buchholtz of the University of Georgia, Dr. Marguerite Schneider of the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Dr. Chamu Sundaramurthy of San Diego State University.  SDSU Professor Paul Graf serves as the Institute’s Associate Director for Law and Finance.
www.sdsu.edu/corpgov.

About the College of Business Administration - Leadership for the Global Marketplace.
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About San Diego State University
San Diego State University is the oldest and largest higher education institution in the San Diego region.  Since it was founded in 1897, the university has grown to offer bachelor’s degrees
in 81 areas, master’s degrees in 72 areas and doctorates in 16 areas.  SDSU’s more than 34,000 students participate in academic curriculum distinguished by direct contact with faculty and an increasing international emphasis that prepares them for a global future.  For information, visit www.sdsu.edu.