Standing in the Hollywood Bowl in the 1950s, William Sharpe sang a war ballad with his fellow khaki-wearing Theta Xi brothers during Spring Sing.
More than 50 years later, Sharpe, a Nobel laureate and professor emeritus of finance at Stanford University, returned to UCLA on Monday night as the guest of honor at the fraternity’s weekly dinner meeting.
“It’s an experience for the undergraduates to see that a distinguished alum of Theta Xi is willing to come back to his roots,” said Joe Cottrell, president of the UCLA Theta Xi Alumni Association.
Cottrell said he invited Sharpe to visit during the past two years, and after a few scheduling conflicts, Sharpe was finally able to attend. His visit coincidentally fell on the same day the winners of the 2010 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences were announced.
Sharpe won the prize himself in 1990 for the Capital Asset Pricing Model, a theory now taught in universities on how capital assets like stocks will be priced in a particular capital market.
Cottrell had asked Sharpe to talk to the guests about economics, but Sharpe said he always speaks about economics and would rather make the event more casual by opening it up to general questions.
Before dinner, guests in suits mingled on the patio by the pool, at the wooden tables of the dining room and other places throughout the two-story house. Sharpe reminisced with a friend about their time during Spring Sing with Theta Xi, smiled at people who approached him to make conversation and discussed his opinion about the recently awarded prize with the head of the UCLA Department of Economics.
About 100 people, including UCLA Anderson School of Management professors and Theta Xi alumni and undergraduates, attended the dinner, said Julian Kleinbrodt, president of the fraternity and a fourth-year history student.
No. 402 out of more than 1,550 UCLA members of Theta Xi who have been initiated over the years, Sharpe wore a blue and white tag with his name and number like the other attending alumni.
“I’m very excited that (Sharpe) came to talk with us tonight. I was surprised to hear that he’s not only part of the fraternity but (also) this chapter,” said Michael Prager, a fourth-year physics student and current Theta Xi member.
After dinner, Sharpe fielded questions about what UCLA meant to his career and life and spoke about the future of the economy, Kleinbrodt said.
“He did a really great job of taking some complex issues and shedding light on them and potential solutions,” Kleinbrodt said about Sharpe’s discussion of the state budget crisis and the national economy. “I think everyone learned a lot about economics, particularly those of us who are not well-versed.”
Sharpe earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate in economics at UCLA, working his way through school with jobs such as pumping gas in Westwood and grading for seven courses at a time.
Kleinbrodt said fraternity members could gain a broader perspective from Sharpe and his reflections on life during and after Theta Xi.
“Too often, the fraternity experience can seem confined to four years of undergrad,” Kleinbrodt said. “But the experience carries with you and provides a community years and years down the line.”