Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton has announced the appoint- ment of a new director of the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University in St. Louis and a new name for the Center.
Steven S. Smith, currently the Distinguished McKnight University Professor of Political Science and Law at the University of Minnesota, will assume the top administrative position at the University public policy center on Jan.1, 2001.
On the same day, the Center will be renamed the Murray Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government and Public Policy, in honor of its founder and director, Murray Weidenbaum.
Smith also has been named the Kate M. Gregg Professor of Social Sciences at the University and will join the Department of Political Science in Arts & Sciences.
"Professor Smith joins us with rich experiences and many accomplishments that make him the ideal leader for the Weidenbaum Center," said Chancellor Wrighton. "He will be a great addition to our faculty in Arts & Sciences and continue to build the impact of our Weidenbaum Center."
Weidenbaum founded the Center for the Study of American Business at the University in 1975. For most of the past 25 years, he led the Center as director and chairman in its mission of producing scholarly research on issues affecting the American business system. The Center was originally funded by a grant from the John M. Olin Foundation and continues to be entirely self-funded with donations from foundations, corporations and individuals.
In 1981 and 1982, Weidenbaum was President Ronald Reagan's first chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. He helped formulate the economic policy of the Reagan Administration and was a key spokesman for the Administration on economic and financial issues. From 1983-89, he was a member of the President's Economic Policy Advisory Board. Earlier, Weidenbaum was the first Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy.
He also served as Corporate Economist at the Boeing Company and has been a member of the boards of directors of several major companies. He has been a faculty member at the University since 1964 and was Chairman of the Economics Department from 1966 to 1969. He continues to serve as the Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor. The author of eight books, including six editions of "Business and Government in the Global Marketplace," Weidenbaum has written several hundred articles in publications ranging from the American Economic Review to the Wall Street Journal. He received the National Order of Merit from France in recognition of his contributions to foreign policy. In 1999, Weidenbaum was elected chairman of the Congressional Trade Deficit Review Commission. Weidenbaum will continue his writing and research at the Center following his return from a one-year sabbatical.
"In naming the Center in honor of Professor Murray Weidenbaum we pay tribute to his exceptional leadership and distinguished contributions as an economist, faculty member and public servant," said Chancellor Wrighton. "His contributions will be enduring, and naming the Center in his honor will be inspiring to future generations of people associated with the Center and its work."
Smith will also hold a new endowed chair in the political science department in the name of Kate M. Gregg, a generous benefactor to the University.
Smith plans a shift in emphasis at the Weidenbaum Center to a greater focus on the political process in public policy and an expanded association with University faculty research.