How Columbia built up its economics department

Here is the story. One excerpt:

“Especially in a place like New York, there is a big temptation to go for assembling people who will be on Charlie Rose, get written up in The New Yorker,” says David Card, who’s credited with helping rejuvenate Berkeley’s economics department. “But that has nothing to do with younger people doing research”–the true measure of a top program.

Here is their home page and list of new arriving faculty.  Thanks to Craig Newmark for the pointer.