Laura D'Andrea Tyson.

• Author: Harrison, Joan
• Position: Former presidential adviser appointed to the Human Genome Sciences Inc. board

The former presidential adviser is excited about breakthroughs in her Berkeley post and in her new directorship at Human Genome Sciences.

Whether she was explaining the principle of supply and demand to a classroom of freshmen or briefing seasoned Congressmen on deficit-reduction measures, Dr. Laura D'Andrea Tyson has displayed her flair for teaching and economic brainpower which have earned her kudos in academe as well as in government. Top companies that are looking to fill board seats also are eager for a bit of Tyson's talent and time, which is currently filled with directorships at Ameritech Corp., Eastman Kodak Co., Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co., and, most recently, Human Genome Sciences Inc. She joined the board of this pharmaceuticals company that is creating drugs and therapeutic products using human genes in November 1998.

Tyson's impressive qualifications explain why she is in such demand. A "real-world" economist focused on international trade policy and issues of competitiveness, she received her B.A. in economics from Smith College in 1969 and her Ph.D. in economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1974. The next three years she spent as an assistant professor of economics at Princeton University, then left to join the Berkeley faculty in 1977. She received Berkeley's Distinguished Teaching Award in 1982, an award that had been given to only three economists before her since its inception in 1959.

With her 1993 appointment by President Clinton to chair the White House Council of Economic Advisors, she became the first woman to be elected to that post. When she was promoted to National Economic Advisor in 1995, she became the highest-ranking woman in the Clinton administration, acting as a key contributor to the president's domestic and international policy agenda during his first term in office.

Tyson tells DIRECTORS & BOARDS that her teaching experience prepared her well for her stint in Washington. "It never interested me to run for public office," she says, noting that she had never even run for a school office. "My work in economics had always focused on public policy problems, such as U.S. competitiveness, U.S. macroeconomic policy, taxation policy, etc., and increasingly I was interested in using my work as a way to provide support to people in public office."

Although she modestly attributes her "discovery" to a good bit of luck, her finesse as a public speaker and her approach to economic issues...