Student Affairs
Haas = HAAS? No, it’s not an acronym
Ten years ago this quarter, I wrote a brief article with this title in the Commons newsletter. When I learned of the recent passing of Evelyn D. Haas, I was moved to dust off this piece to share with our friends, as it seems to have stood the test of time. Evelyn was the widow of Walter A. Haas, Jr.; in 1953, they established the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, one of several Haas family philanthropies based in San Francisco.
In 2005, we also lost Peter E. Haas, brother of Walter A. Haas, Jr. and husband of Mimi Haas, who has been a member of the Haas Center’s National Advisory Board since the early days some 25 years ago. In warm recognition of the great philanthropic tradition of the Haas family (pronounced “Haaz”) and with enduring gratitude to Mimi and Peter Haas (pictured above, right, in 1993), we are happy to run this again.
A couple of key updates since 2000 include: Al Camarillo (History) is the third Haas Centennial Professor, succeeding J. Gregory Dees; and major gifts from the Walter and Elise Haas Fund and the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund have created the Peter E. Haas Directorship (a chair held by Professor Gabriel Garcia) and a new Service-Learning Endowment.
Haas = HAAS? No, it’s not an acronym
At least a couple of times a week, I receive mail addressed to the HAAS Center for Public Service. At least two or three times a month, I am asked “What does HAAS stand for?” As exasperating as it is to explain repeatedly that “Haas” is not an acronym, I realize that this common misapprehension is rooted in two simple realities:
- The Haas family is closely associated with good causes in San Francisco and buildings at the University of California at Berkeley, but is far less visible only a few miles distant on the Peninsula.
- The Haas family foundations do a lot of philanthropy, but they often do it quietly and the vast majority of it locally.
So let me just set the record straight once again: the Haas family are the descendants of Levi Strauss, the pioneering (literally—this is the Gold Rush we’re talking about) manufacturer of blue jeans. Walter A. Haas, Sr., the son-in-law of Levi Strauss’s nephew Sigmund Stern (as in Stern Grove), was the family member who built Levi Strauss & Co. into the world’s largest clothing producer. Luckily for the Bay Area, he and his wife Elise Stern Haas also created a family ethos of philanthropy and service to society.
Stanford’s Public Service Center became the Haas Center for Public Service in 1989, honoring the contributions of the family to the founding endowment, as well as to the John Gardner Public Service Fellowship. A gift from the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund also established the Haas Centennial Professorship in Public Service, a chair first held by John Gardner, and now by J. Gregory Dees. Mimi Haas remains deeply involved in the Haas Center’s present and future as an active member of the National Advisory Board. The Mimi and Peter Haas Fund continues to provide strategic support to the development of service-learning at Stanford.
Thank you to the Haas foundations that helped us to get to this point: the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund, and the Mimi and Peter Haas Fund!
