The Department of Economics was recently named the recipient of a sizeable endowment from the board of directors of the Economics Institute. As many readers will recall, the Economics Institute provided training in English, economics, business, statistics, and mathematics for thousands of international graduate students and business executives from 1958 to 2001. The EI was founded and directed for many years by Professor Wyn Owen, an emeritus member of our department. Under his leadership, it became the premier institution in the world for providing essential training for international students completing graduate degrees in the United States in economics or business. Unfortunately, changes in the international business climate in recent years reduced the demand for the EI’s services and it closed its doors in late 2001.

The board of directors and the Department of Economics have decided to work together to endow a lasting legacy in honor of Wyn Owen and the Economics Institute. It is certainly appropriate to do so. Wyn is a visionary who was the first to see the importance of such training, and the EI established a global reputation for first-rate preparatory education. Moreover, thousands of EI alumni recall their time in Boulder with fondness and respect. It is a legacy well worth recognizing and perpetuating.

With the gift, the Department of Economics will establish three new academic initiatives. First, each year we will select one or two outstanding students from a developing country who has applied for admission to the doctoral program. We will provide them with a fellowship that will supplement any financial aid offered by the department. The students selected will be designated “Wyn Owen Graduate Fellows” and would retain this designation throughout their graduate careers. In this way we will continue Wyn’s tradition of training graduate students from poor countries in economics.

Second, we will annually select and invite three highly visible scholars, policymakers, or business entrepreneurs who are active in economic development to spend one week in residence at the economics department or business school at CU-Boulder. These “Wyn Owen Visiting Scholars” would give a research seminar in the department (if appropriate), speak in relevant undergraduate classes, and also be available to visit interested local groups in Denver and Boulder. In this program we will concentrate on inviting EI alumni who have achieved positions of prominence in government, academia, and business.

Third, the department will periodically host a conference on economic development and development policy. The conferences will involve young scholars, including graduate students, presenting their research papers. Each conference will have a thematic framework, such as “Development and Labor Markets,” “Development under Globalization Pressures,” or “Development and Agricultural Policies.”

We are grateful to the board of directors of the EI for making this opportunity possible and look forward to working with them to establish the legacy. If readers wish to make contributions to this fund, please send them to the department chair using the address found on page 14 of this newsletter. Mark the contributions for “Economics Institute Endowment.”