University of MD Professor wins Nobel Prize!

Parents Forum
1

<p>TO: University of Maryland Family</p>

<p>The University of Maryland has received momentous news this morning: the
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has announced that the 2005 Nobel
Prize for Economics has been awarded to our own Thomas C. Schelling.</p>

<p>Dr. Schelling is a Distinguished University Professor in the School of
Public Policy and the Department of Economics in the College of
Behavioral and Social Sciences. He joined the faculty in 1990. His
writings on nuclear deterrence helped to shape Cold War strategies in
the 1960s. More recently, he has written highly influential articles and
books on energy and the environment. For more details about Dr.
Schelling's career and the basis for the award, please visit
<a href="http://www.nobelprize.org%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.nobelprize.org&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Receiving the Nobel Prize is one of the greatest distinctions for a
scholar, and the University is extraordinarily honored to have Nobel
Laureates on the faculty. This honor reflects the outstanding quality of
the School of Public Policy and the College of Behavioral and Social
Sciences. All of us in the University of Maryland community salute Dr.
Schelling and celebrate his achievement.</p>

<p>There will be a news conference today at 11:30 a.m. Visit the University
home page at <a href="http://www.umd.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.umd.edu&lt;/a> for information on viewing the news conference
and for other details throughout the day.</p>

<p>This is the third Nobel Prize awarded to a member of the University of
Maryland faculty. William Phillips won the Nobel Prize for Physics in
1997. Juan Ramon Jimenez won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1956.</p>

<p>C. D. Mote, Jr.
President</p>

<pre><code> ********************

     This note was authorized for distribution to 
          University of Maryland Community by:
               President C. D. Mote, Jr.

</code></pre>

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<p>So he was about 69 when the UM hired him. Looks like a semi-retirement home to hang his shingle.</p>

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<p>Congrat's to UMd!!! Some people just hit their stride in their 60's (hope this is true for me).</p>

4

<p>Something to look forward to!</p>

5

<p>He published his last book in 1984. I see this basically as resume padding by UM. Some of the Cali schools have done this for years.</p>

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<p>Go Terps!!!!</p>

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<p>
[quote]
He published his last book in 1984. I see this basically as resume padding by UM. Some of the Cali schools have done this for years.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Tom Schelling has published at least three books since 1984:<br>
Choice and Consequence, 1985,
Strategy and Arms Control, 1986,
Bargaining, Communication and Limited War, 1993. </p>

<p>Moreover, it's a good bet he's published numerous articles and given many conference talks since then. (The scholarly reputation of most economists depends far more on their journal articles than on their books.) He is very sharp mentally and very spry physically, according to profs who've met with him on trips in recent months.</p>

<p>As for how he wound up at Maryland, here is his own account in an interview he gave last February:</p>

<p>
[quote]
RF: How did you come to the University of Maryland?</p>

<p>Schelling: In the 1980s, Congress passed a law making it illegal for most businesses to have a mandatory retirement age for most employees. But they allowed colleges and universities a seven-year grace period. Harvard, at the time, had mandatory retirement at 70, and I was going to be 70 before the grace period expired. Well, I was in good health, felt that there was more research that I wanted to do, and still enjoyed teaching. So I let it be known that I could be attracted to another university. My first preference was a university in Southern California, where I grew up. But then a former colleague and a very good friend of mine who was dean of the University of Maryland's School of Public Affairs called, and I told him about my situation. He asked me not to accept another offer until I heard from him. It also turned out that the chairman of the economics department had been my teaching fellow at Harvard in the 1960s. So I had two very close connections at Maryland, and I also knew a few other people on the faculty, like Mancur Olson. Plus, as we have discussed, much of my work is very policy-oriented, which made the Washington area pretty desirable to me. Overall, it seemed like this would be a good fit for me, so when the president of the university made me a very generous offer, I accepted it. I have been at Maryland since 1990. I still teach a class or two, but I am now in an emeritus position.

[/quote]
</p>

<p><a href="http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/economic_research/region_focus/spring_2005/interview.cfm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.richmondfed.org/publications/economic_research/region_focus/spring_2005/interview.cfm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>As indicated, Tom Schelling had a close working relationship with profs at Maryland long before he was forced to leave Harvard. (Ironically, I believe he had earlier tried to recruit Mancur Olson, a star from Maryland, to come to Harvard, but that hadn't worked out.) They are both brilliant, outside-the-box thinkers and I imagine the synergy of being at the same institution was valuable.</p>

<p>It should be noted that he is now in emeritus status at both Harvard and at Maryland. That means he is now retired from both places, but is entitled to various privileges (exact nature of privileges depends on the institution, but could include maintaining an office and secretarial support.)</p>

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<p>I was going by his own CV which listed the last book in 1984.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.puaf.umd.edu/facstaff/faculty/SchellingCV.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.puaf.umd.edu/facstaff/faculty/SchellingCV.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

9

<p>Barrons - </p>

<p>Why the eagerness to trash the achievement? What difference does his age make or when his last book was? We are talking about a NOBEL PRIZE for crying out loud. Whenever a school's faculty member wins a Nobel it is a wonderful occasion for the whole school.</p>

10

<p>Because it has always bugged me when schools "hire" famous retired profs with the hope to add a little academic prestige. Most of their work that made them famous is decades behind them and was accomplished with the support of another school. It brings honor to the schools he attended and the schools where he did his work. I just feel the rest is bogus. But that's just my opinion.</p>

11

<p>
[quote]
I was going by his own CV which listed the last book in 1984.
<a href="http://www.puaf.umd.edu/facstaff/fa...SchellingCV.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.puaf.umd.edu/facstaff/fa...SchellingCV.htm&lt;/a>

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Faculty websites are not necessarily exhaustive. And, in fact, many of Schelling's books are collections of articles which had previously been published, often many years before. As I said, an economist's reputation rests primarily on his articles, not on his books. </p>

<p>At any rate, I think it's presumptuous to conclude on the basis of his books' publication dates that UM was just "resume padding." He is a very creative thinker and a great communicator and he has a reputation for generously contributing his ideas and input to his colleagues' work. </p>

<p>He was far from a "sure thing" for a Nobel Prize in 1990, when he went to Maryland. His work is brilliant, but it's quite different from the sort of thing that generally wins an economics Nobel prize. It's remarkably readable, even by laymen. There's amazingly clever insights and logical thought, but none of the usual morass of mathematical formulae one typically finds in Nobel prize-winning economics. </p>

<p>I'm glad the Nobel econ committee recognized his work, but it was far from a sure thing, especially back in 1990. So, resume-padding on UM's part seems like an unfair charge.</p>

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<p>It is a remarkable achievement..and he sounds like a remarkable man. Hopefully the kind of person you will get to chat with Barrons when you hit the nursing home in your 60's....
As far as myself..I hope to just be hitting my stride when I get to my 60's along with many other 60 plus year olds...
My husbands mom and dad are in their 90's and they have all their marbles and are still going strong.
Anyway we will try to remember to send you some mush in care of the nursing home in case your teeth are beside your bed instead of in your mouth along with your brains.</p>

13

<p>
[quote]
Because it has always bugged me when schools "hire" famous retired profs with the hope to add a little academic prestige. Most of their work that made them famous is decades behind them and was accomplished with the support of another school. It brings honor to the schools he attended and the schools where he did his work. I just feel the rest is bogus. But that's just my opinion.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Harvard had a policy that was forcing all professors in Schelling's cohort to retire by age 70. He was full of energy and wanted to continue his teaching and research. (And his colleagues nationwide clearly had a high opinion of him. He was elected President of the American Economics Association in 1991.) </p>

<p>And you think UM and all the other universities should have just been hands-off--let's abandon this guy who is being forced out by his university's retirement policy?</p>

<p>I'm not familiar with the details of the research he's been doing since 1990 and it's entirely possible that it's not of the same exact quality or quantity as his earlier work, but I do know that scholars all over the country are delighted to get his feedback on their work when he passes through on trips. I understand he is generous with his advice, and it's full of insight, cleverness, and common sense.</p>

14

<p>Just FYI - if you search out his full CV, he has numerous published articles through the 1990's at least. I don't think one expects to win Nobel Prize based on what s/he has been doing over recent months. How "recent" one's lifetime achievement is may not be a factor whatsoever. While he may or may not have continued publishing in most recent years, there are certainly many other contributions such an individual can make on a college campus - teaching anyone? mentoring?</p>

<p>Full disclosure: brother, niece, nephew and many childhood friends are all Terps.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I don't think one expects to win Nobel Prize based on what s/he has been doing over recent months. How "recent" one's lifetime achievement is may not be a factor whatsoever.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Indeed, the Nobel Prize committee (at least in economics and the sciences) deliberately avoids giving prizes for very recent work. </p>

<p>They want to make sure that the accomplishments "stand the test of time." And they really try to reward "seminal" work that has stimulated whole new productive subfields, something that can only be judged with benefit of hindsight.</p>

<p>Moreover, the Nobel memorial prize in economics is relatively much newer than the traditional Nobels in the other fields. The others began around the turn of the 20th century, whereas the economics prize was launched in the late 60s. Thus there was a big "backlog" of economists who had not been previously recognized waiting for their turn in the early years, which made others wait perhaps longer than they would have had to wait. </p>

<p>Sadly, some people who are almost universally judged worthy of the prize don't get it, because the Nobel prize organization has rules against posthumous awards, and by the time the impact of the scholar's work is clear, he may no longer be living.</p>

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<p>Hmmm..... I am thinking our own wisteria may well be a member of The Committee. ;) Or should be.</p>

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<p>Here is a testimonial from a recent PhD who did his doctoral work at U of MD:</p>

<p>
[quote]
Tom is a wonderful teacher and an incredibly kind person.</p>

<p>You may notice that news reports place Tom’s age at 84—Tom may be 84, but he isn’t old.</p>

<p>A few semesters ago, I went over to Tom’s house to talk about my dissertation. He proceeded to serve a very civilized lunch, a bottle of red wine and, before too long, what remained of my dissertation. It was one of the best experiences of my graduate studies, not the least because the dissertation was better for the trouble.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>source: <a href="http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/818/tom-schelling-wins-nobel-prize%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/818/tom-schelling-wins-nobel-prize&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>
[quote]
Hmmm..... I am thinking our own wisteria may well be a member of The Committee. Or should be.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If I were a member of the Nobel committee, Tom Schelling would have gotten the prize years ago!</p>

<p>Unfortunately, it's not up to me, but I'm glad the Committee finally saw fit to honor him. (Speaking of fit, he is exceptionally fit--lithe and a runner for many years--maybe the committee figured they could take their time and he'd still be alive for a while. I just looked up the complete list of past Nobel winners here: <a href="http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/NobelPrize.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AEA/NobelPrize.htm&lt;/a>
It looks like Tom Schelling is the oldest recipient of the econ prize, but he is, as the above blogger says, an exceptionally vigorous and sharp 84-year-old! We should all be so lucky!)</p>

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<p>And here's yet another testimonial from a recent U of Maryland student who took a class from Prof. Schelling:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/11/stories/2005101103540900.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/11/stories/2005101103540900.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I visited UMD on a science competition sponsored trip and was very impressed by the science faculty and labs. The optic lab was soooo cool... I wouldn't have minded ending up there.</p>

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<br>

<p>Not everybody sees it your way. In fact the purists in the Nobel counting game see it just the opposite --> that a school should legitimately claim only Nobel laureates who are CURRENTLY on the faculty, as Schelling is at UMD. It is viewed as padding when schools claim a Nobelist who used to be there but isn't any longer. UCSB has a very strict policy on this - only current profs count. By contrast, the Univ. of Chicago is the champ at claiming every Nobel winner who ever stopped in for cup of coffee no matter they may be now.</p>

<p>An article on the very topic was on the front page of today's LA Times:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-nobelinflate10oct10,0,6951892,print.story?coll=la-home-nation%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-nobelinflate10oct10,0,6951892,print.story?coll=la-home-nation&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>