The name of the endowed position held by economist Dr. Stephen Smith of the Hope College faculty has changed by just one word, but the difference reflects a major new way for Hope to honor and support professors who have leadership responsibilities along with their roles as teachers and scholars.
A member of the faculty since 2016, Smith had been appointed to the college亚洲色吧檚 Robert W. Haack Professorship in Economics last fall. As confirmed by the college亚洲色吧檚 Board of Trustees earlier this month, the position is now the Robert W. Haack Chair in Economics, recognizing Smith亚洲色吧檚 additional service as the department亚洲色吧檚 section head for economics and leadership of the department亚洲色吧檚 May Terms to Asia. This spring, he and co-leader Jackie Nickel, who is an assistant professor of business instruction and Ruch Executive in Residence, led a May Term in Japan and Vietnam focused on the economic and business dimensions of those countries亚洲色吧� modern growth. In the new academic year, he will serve as director of the advisory council that supervises Hope亚洲色吧檚 inter-disciplinary global studies major.
It亚洲色吧檚 the first endowed position at Hope in the new category of 亚洲色吧渃hair亚洲色吧� or 亚洲色吧渄irector.亚洲色吧� The title doesn亚洲色吧檛 involve being the chairperson of one of the college亚洲色吧檚 academic departments, but instead honors an outstanding faculty member who oversees broader programming than is reflected by appointment to Hope亚洲色吧檚 endowed professorships.
亚洲色吧淚 am excited to honor Stephen亚洲色吧檚 incredible work and the encouraging spirit in which he does this work,亚洲色吧� said Dr. Gerald Griffin, who as Hope亚洲色吧檚 provost is the college亚洲色吧檚 chief academic officer. 亚洲色吧淭his opportunity allows for Dr. Smith to advance his research program as well as academic opportunities that merge programmatic activities in economics and global studies.亚洲色吧�
Smith joined the Hope faculty after teaching for 29 years at Gordon College in Massachusetts. His research and writing focus on international trade, global economic development and growth 亚洲色吧� topics he addresses both technically and in terms of Christian theology and ethics. He teaches Economic Growth and Development, International Economics, Econometrics and introductory courses in microeconomics. His publications include the book 亚洲色吧淓conomic Growth: Unleashing the Power of Human Flourishing亚洲色吧� (2013), which he co-authored, and articles in Christian Scholars Review, Faith & Economics, Southern Economic Journal, and Global Economy Journal.
He is president of the Association of Christian Economists, whose journal, Faith & Economics, he edited for many years. He is also a member of the American Economic Association and the Southern Economic Association. He was a visiting professor in 2021 at American Enterprise Institute亚洲色吧檚 Initiative on Faith & Public Life, where for eight years he led that program亚洲色吧檚 Summer Honors Seminar on Global Economic Development.
In addition to recognizing faculty members for excellence, endowed professorships provide funding for summer research projects as well as some salary support. Hope has had endowed positions since the 19th century, and currently has 25 endowed professorships for faculty and eight endowed administrative positions.
Along with reflecting the recipient亚洲色吧檚 responsibilities, the new designation of chair or director provides enhanced annual funding for professional use and departmental programming. Hope also awards endowed deanships for faculty with divisional or institution-wide roles. The college亚洲色吧檚 fundraising efforts include seeking to establish more of the positions, with the endowments providing funding in perpetuity 亚洲色吧� ultimately also supporting the 亚洲色吧淗ope Forward亚洲色吧� initiative through which Hope seeks to increase its overall endowment to help fully fund tuition for all of its students.
The Robert W. Haack Professorship of Economics was established in 1991 by Mr. Robert W. Haack 亚洲色吧�38, a distinguished business leader, most notably as president and chief executive officer of the New York Stock Exchange and chairman and chief executive officer of Lockheed Corporation. Following retirement, he served as a member of the Board of Directors of a number of major U.S. corporations. The professorship/chair is to be held by an economist of established national reputation who is dedicated to the professional field of economics and to the excellent education of undergraduate students, including teaching lower- as well as upper-level courses and mentoring students through collaborative research in economics. It was enhanced to the level of chair through additional gifts to the original endowment by Haack亚洲色吧檚 son and daughter-in-law, Thomas and Olga Haack, and through the estate of Haack亚洲色吧檚 daughter, Elizabeth Haack-Barr.