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Jerold Pearson, '75
Director of Market Research

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groucho.gif (1708 bytes)  Jerold Pearson - Biography

An insolent and dismal child, I was abandoned as a babe and raised by lycanthropic monks running wanton in the woods of Connecticut, just across the border from the haunted hills of Sleepy Hollow.  Leaving my untamed childhood (and certain reckless indiscretions) behind, I attended Amherst College and then transferred to Stanford, where I earned my degree in communications and art history in 1975. 

Deciding against a career as a museum curator, I deftly evaded graduate school in order to squander my youth in the film industry. As an underemployed actor and writer, I had a bit (okay, a LOT) of time to indulge my interest in politics -- and my work on various state and national campaigns led to my fascination with public opinion research.

Between the many election defeats (and the occasional inexplicable victory), I discovered "the watery part of the world," and sailed on small boats to French Polynesia and up and down the coast of Baja and mainland Mexico.

After being snubbed by the Oscars once too often, I did graduate study at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.  I then worked for research firms in Los Angeles and Boulder, Colorado, doing political polling, new product development, and customer satisfaction research.

I have been the Director of Market Research at Stanford since April 1994, am currently on the editorial board of the International Journal of Educational Advancement, and have earned the "Faculty Star" designation by CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education).

I also consult and conduct research for others, and am a partner in eAdvancement, a consortium of independent consultants that provides strategic guidance in alumni and constituent relations, communications, and fundraising.  As such, I can collaborate with or draw upon the experience and expertise of my eAdvancement colleagues, a veritable Who's Who of advancement All-Stars - including Eustace Theodore, who was the Executive Director of the Association of Yale Alumni for 16 years, and then President of CASE; Dan White, who was the Director of the Alumni Council at Princeton for 19 years; Terry Holcombe, who was the VP of Development and Alumni Affairs at Yale for 16 years; and Bill Stone, who was the President of the Stanford Alumni Association for 24 years.  More information about eAdvancement can be found at: www.eAdvancement.org

American clients I have conducted research for include Yale, Princeton, Columbia, Dartmouth, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, University of California-Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Vanderbilt, Northwestern, University of Southern California, University of Virginia, University of Michigan, Penn State, Lehigh, Temple, Rutgers, Adelphi, University of the Pacific, Willamette University, University of Denver, University of Maine, Cardinal Stritch University, Middlebury College, Swarthmore College, Pomona College, Boston College, Macalester College, the College of Charleston, Rollins College, Merrimack College, St. Norbert College, Washington College, Gustavus Adolphus College, The American College, the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Outward Bound.  International clients include University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, McGill, Queen's, Simon Fraser, Trent, and Ryerson universities (all in Canada), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (Israel), the American University of Beirut (Lebanon), and PCI: the data company (Texas).  Call now and join this elite, wise, and forward-thinking group!

Although I no longer grace(?) the silver screen - apart from occasional late night reruns - I made my Triumphant Return to the Stage in November 2001 in a Stanford Drama Department production of "Marat/Sade."


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