On behalf of the Department of Economics, I am pleased to welcome you to a Distinguished Lecture commemorating the life and work of Professor Martin Bronfenbrenner. We all share in the privilege and opportunity to recognize and remember our colleague and friend.
Our memories are rich and varied. To the economics profession, Martin's most lasting legacy is recorded in over 250 articles and 5 books on a host of topics, including Aggregate Economics, Income Distribution, International Economics, and Japan. His sch olarship has been recognized on several occasions, including his election as Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economics Association.
At Duke, Martin was the first holder of the Kenan Professorship. In this role he brought great distinction to the University and Department. He was a model member of the faculty: a superb scholar, an accomplished teacher, a frequent participant in camp us debates on issues ranging from college athletics to political correctness, and an ambassador of economics to several departments around the University.
Let me say a bit more about his teaching since he loved it so much. His classes demanded the very "best" from each and every student. He pushed students' intellects to the limit and, significantly, he was always on the search for the occasional "diamond in the rough" to be unearthed, and then polished. Students found his courses "memorable," to say the least.
What most students did not appreciate, however, was that his demanding teaching style was the product of his own legacy. He did his graduate work at the University of Chicago. While he worked very hard, he assessed his own performance as but "mediocre"- -certainly an overly harsh judgment. Nonetheless, challenged he was, and this "diamond in the rough" was to be polished into brilliance by the somewhat demanding if not intimidating environment of Chicago at the time. The task masters were two: Profess or Jacob Viner, whom Martin affectionately called the Lord High Executioner and, interestingly, his fellow students. Four of the students in his classes eventually received the Nobel Prize. No wonder he assessed his performance as less than pace setting . But he learned from that experience that prodding and challenging students can represent powerful stimuli to learning. In Martin's own pilgrimage, and in that of his students at Duke and elsewhere, he epitomized the sanctity and primacy of the intelle ct.
The Durham community will remember Martin in one of his most unique roles: as a talented journalist. He was a regular contributor of letters and articles to our newspapers. His ability to explain and to apply potentially complex economic ideas in clear , thought provoking, and often witty ways was a skill in which he took pride and to which he devoted considerable effort. In this, as well as other roles, Martin's legacy was one of transforming the Dismal Science into entertaining enlightenment.
Personally Martin's life was as rich as his professional roles. Memorable events came in twos. He was de facto a citizen of two countries: first and legally of the United States and second, and affectionately, of Japan, where he served in the Armed For ces during the Occupation, and to which he returned on many occasions. Martin had two wives,... at different times. They are both here today, and they are the best of friends. His first wife, Jean Crockett, is an accomplished economist now retired from the University of Pennsylvania; and Teruko Bronfenbrenner, whom we've come to know and cherish, is a classy lady of great warmth and talent. Martin and Teruko have two children: June, who resides in Baltimore, and Ken, who is in New York City.
It is impossible to provide a tribute truly befitting the life of Martin Bronfenbrenner in anything less than a lengthy period. However, I'm pretty sure that Martin would feel quite uncomfortable with the idea of a detailed chronicling much beyond what has already been said. Instead, we've decided the best way to honor him is to grapple with some controversial ideas, propositions, arguments--all sustenance to the intellect to which he devoted his life. To that end, we've invited back to Duke Professor Anne Krueger to present a Distinguished Lecture.
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