The Yale School of Management has renamed the Center for Corporate Governance and Performance to honor Ira Millstein, senior associate dean for corporate governance at the school, SOM Dean Joel Podolny said.

The center — which is now known as the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance — supports research in leadership and ethics at the highest levels of business management. The announcement was timed to coincide with Millstein’s 80th birthday on Wednesday.

“[Millstein] has brought tremendous innovation and real-world insight to the Center and it has flourished under his leadership,” Podolny said in a press release. “In recognition of his tireless effort and dedication, Yale University President Richard C. Levin and I agreed that it is only fitting that the center bear his name.”

The center was opened in June 2006 and is funded by $20 million in gifts and commitments, including a $10 million donation from David Nierenberg ’75 LAW ’78 and his wife Patricia.

Millstein’s colleagues said he was fundamental in the creation of the center, and he currently serves as its director.

In addition to serving as a dean at the school, Millstein is a visiting professor in competitive enterprise and strategy, and he is a partner at the international law firm Weil, Gotshal and Manges. Millstein is a consultant for various corporations on governance issues.

Fourteen SOM professors are affiliated with the Millstein Center, which sponsors a number of conferences each year. Upcoming events at the center include a symposium on “The Role of the Corporation in Society” and a workshop on corporate social responsibility.