Jerold Pearson – True and Authorized 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 someone convinced me to jump out of an airplane (oy!) and I nonetheless lived to earn 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 in research methodology 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 was Director of Market Research at Stanford University for 22 years (1994-2016), served on the editorial board of the International Journal of Educational Advancement, and have earned the “Faculty Star” and “Stellar Speaker” designations by CASE (Council for Advancement and Support of Education).

I have conducted research for more than 100 universities and colleges in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, Asia, and Europe – including Ivy League and other private universities, liberal arts colleges, public universities, and institutions with religious affiliations. Some philanthropies too. A complete client list and some testimonials are here. Call now and join this wise and forward-thinking group!

I am a member of AAPOR (the American Association for Public Opinion Research) and CASE.

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.”

When I am not conducting research, I can be found in a kayak or on the pickleball courts, with my snoot in a tumbler of single malt scotch and my eyeballs in a book, playing with my cats, and contra dancing (though not usually all at the same time).

Publications

• CASE Currents magazine – “Can You Say More About That?” feature article, co-authored with Marie Earl, in September 2012 issue
• CASE Currents magazine – “Become a Survey Sophisticate” feature article in May/June 2011 issue
• CASE Currents magazine – “Sizing Up Social Media” feature article in September 2010 issue
• Nonprofit Online News Journal, May 2005 issue – reprint of “@Stanford and Institutional Advancement.”
• “Salutations and Response Rates to Online Surveys” in the Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference on the Impact of Technology on the Survey Process, Association for Survey Computing, September 2003.
• Case Study 4 in Fundraising on the Internet: The ePhilanthropyFoundation.org’s Guide to Success Online, second edition, edited by Mal Warwick, Ted Hart, and Nick Allen, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2001
• “E-mail Newsletters” in Volume 2, Number 2 of the CASE International Journal of Educational Advancement, November 2001
• CASE Currents magazine – “Many Happy Returns” feature article in May/June 2001 issue
• CASE Currents magazine – interview in April 2000 issue
• Chapter 1 of  A New Era of Alumni Research: Improving Institutional Performance and Better Serving Alumni, edited by Joseph Pettit and Larry H. Litten, Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999
• Chapter 1 of Research in Alumni Relations: Surveying Alumni to Improve Your Programs, edited by Donna Shoemaker, CASE Books, 1999
• CASE Currents magazine – article in May 1998 issue

Awards and Honors

• George Santos WTF Fantasy Medallion – 2023
• Joe Manchin “Golden Dagger” Backstabber’s Badge – 2022
• Barack Obama Capitulation Cup – 2010
• George W Bush Swift Boat Trophy for Lies and Cowardice – 2004
• Halliburton/Enron Ethics Award – 2003
• Ashcroft Prize for Civil Liberties – 2002
• Bill Gates Anti-Trust Award – 2001
• Dick Cheney Chickenhawk Cross (awarded in an undisclosed secure location in 2001)
• Harry Flashman Medal for Uncommon Valor – 2000
• Exxon Valdez Mariners Cup – 1998

  Presentations, Lectures, and other Tongue Flapping

• SCAD (Small College Alumni Directors) summer conference – July 2025 at Colorado College
• Wisr Northwest Summit – July 2018 at Portland State University
• Wisr Urban University Summit – February 2018 at University of Colorado Denver
• Meeting of the Minds conference – April 2017 at Cal Poly Pomona
• CASE District VIII annual conference – February 2017 in Seattle
• CASE Institute for Senior Alumni Relations Professionals – April 2014 in San Francisco
• Universities Australia Marketing Communications and Development national conference – October 2013 in Sydney, Australia
• CASE Summit for Leaders in Advancement – July 2012 in Washington, DC
• CAAE (Council of Alumni Association Executives) Summer Institute – July 2010 in Lake Geneva, WI
• WAPOR (World Association for Public Opinion Research) annual conference – September 2009 in Lausanne, Switzerland
• CCAE (Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education) national conference – June 2008 in Kelowna, British Columbia
• Harris Connect Advisory Council – January 2008 in Clearwater, FL
• West Coast Marketing Group – July 2006 at University of California-Davis
• Academic Impressions Conference on Market Research – March 2006 in San Diego
• Academic Impressions Conference on Advancing Development with Strategic Marketing – September 2005 in San Diego
• eAlumni Winter Conference – January 2005 in San Diego
• eAlumni Spring Conference – May 2004 in Dallas, TX
• Association for Survey Computing 4th International Conference on the Impact of Technology on the Survey Process – September 2003 in Coventry, England
• CASE Editors Forum – March 2003 in Chicago
• The Minary Conference on Alumni Education – October 2002 at Lake Tahoe
• PCUAD (Private College and University Alumni Directors) annual conference – July 2002 in Vail, CO
• Ivy-Plus Alumni Relations Conference – June 2002 at Dartmouth College
• Association for Institutional Research/CASE Research Colloquium – April 2002 in New Orleans
• Big 12 Development Conference – March 2002 in Kansas City
• CAAE Winter Institute – February 2002 in Chandler, AZ
• CCAE national conference – November 2001 in Victoria, British Columbia
• Alumni Business Managers Annual Conference – August 2001 at Stanford
• CAAE Summer Institute – July 2001 in Lake Geneva, WI
• CASE International Assembly – July 2001 in San Francisco
• Consortium of Annual Giving Directors conference – June 2001 in St. Louis
• CCAE national conference – June 2001 in Montreal
• eAlumni Spring Conference: The Internet and the Future of Alumni Relations – April 2001 in Dallas, TX
• CASE Conference on Managing Alumni Relationships Online – February 2001 in San Diego
• Association of Fundraising Professionals conference – February 2001 in Kansas City
• Seven Siblings Alumnae Conference – December 2000 at Smith College
• eAlumni Conference – October 2000 in Chicago
• The Minary Conference – September 2000 at Lake Tahoe
• APRA (Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement) national conference – July 2000 in Anaheim, CA
• CASE District 7 Conference – December 1999 in San Francisco
• Ivy-Plus Conference – September 1999 at Stanford
• CASE District 7 Conference – December 1998 in San Francisco
• The Minary Conference – October 1998 at Lake Tahoe
• CASE Annual National Assembly – July 1998 in Chicago
• AIR-CASE Conference on Alumni Research – April 1998 at Georgetown University
• The Planned Giving Group of New England – November 1997 in Boston
• The Minary Conference – October 1997 at Lake Tahoe
• Ivy-Plus Development Conference – June 1997 at Brown University
• Ivy-Plus Alumni Relations Conference – June 1997 on Martha’s Vineyard
• HYPD (Harvard-Yale-Princeton-Dartmouth) Alumni Directors Group – May 1997 at Yale University