Nobel laureate and UCLA alumnus William Sharpe speaks at Theta Xi’s dinner meeting

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.