Economic Graduate Students Award Green Teaching Prize

Economic Department graduate students last week named Jerry R. Green, professor of Economics, winner of the fifth annual "Graduates Award For Good Teaching in Economics."

In honoring Green, the five-member selection committee of graduate students praised his teaching in Economics 2010b, "Economic Theory."

"I think he deserved it--he's very hard working and tries to make things understandable for students," Arturo Estrella, a first-year graduate student in Green's class, said yesterday.

Conscientious

In its April 1 announcement of the $5000 prize, the committee commended Green for his "conscientious efforts to improve his lectures, responsiveness to critical feedback, and open door."

Green said Monday there were many excellent teachers in the Economics department, and "they were probably just going down the list when they picked me." He added that he was "very happy" to receive the award.

John Kenneth Galbraith, Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus, established the award on his retirement to improve teaching in the Economics department.

Galbraith said at the time that his $50,000 gift, intended to support the award for ten years, reflected his "faith in the competition and financial incentives that economists avow" and concern that complaints, "valid or otherwise," had been made concerning the quality of graduate-level teaching in the Economics department.

"I have nothing but congratulations for the winners," Galbraith said Monday, adding that complaints about graduate Economics teaching have ceased "and now all the discussion is about who's the best."

Runners-Up

Stephen A. Marglin '59, professor of Economics, and Martin S. Feldstein '61, professor of Economics, received honorable mention for their teaching efforts. Feldstein is considered one of the country's top young conservative economists, and Marglin is the only tenured radical professor in the Economics department.

The divergence of two of the honorees' views from his own did not disturb Galbraith, who said, "I never thought that good teaching involved agreement with Galbraith--although I always welcome it."