|Peter Boettke|
One of the great benefits of teaching at GMU is the opportunity to work with our graduate students. These students self-select from throughout the world to come to GMU due to the unique educational and research opportunity we offer here. The students care passionately about economics, and they exhibit that passion in their studies, in their conversations, in their research, and in their teaching. And the more they exhibit that passion and enthusiasm for economics, the more successful they will be in working with faculty, and in getting their research published, and in becoming effective teachers and in developing themselves as first-rate economic communicators to their peers, to their students, to policy makers, and to the general public.
Scott Beaulier is one of the alumni from GMU that has since gone on and established himself professionally and with great distinction as a teacher, a scholar, and as a builder of student programs and cultivator of a research environment. Scott moved earlier this year from Mercer University in Georgia where he had built one of the best undergraduate student programs for getting students to think about economics and liberty to Troy University in Alabama, where he has been entrusted with establishing the Manuel Johnson Center for Political Economy. I have no doubt that Scott will build an excellent research and educational program at Troy.
Scott is hard working, humble, and hungry. He is a dedicated and gifted teacher. And he is simply a great person to be around. If you are a person of financial means, or involved with a foundation, and care about economic education and research on the fundamental issues of economics, law, and policy, then invest in Scott, the Johnson Center and Troy University --- you will not be disappointed. If you are a parent or a student looking for an education in free market economics, then put Troy on your list of schools to seriously consider. Fortunately, that list is growing and no longer limited to Grove City College and Hillsdale College, but now includes Beloit College and St Lawrence University; Loyola of New Orleans and Hampden Sydney College; and San Jose State and Utah State ... and many more that I am missing (and for which I apologize for not listing). But with the moves that Scott is making, and his ability to build quality educational programs, Troy should be at the top of the list for parents and students --- especially those in the region, but I would argue nationally as well. BTW, for you students Troy is located not that far from the beautiful beaches of the Gulf Coast as well, and the school has a strong football (D1) team to cheer for in the fall.
Scott officially announced today the wonderful news of the strong group of faculty that he has successfully recruited to Troy to help him build the Johnson Center into a first-rate research and educational center in political economy. Among this stellar group, which includes the very accomplished public choice and market process economist Dan Sutter, Scott has brought to Troy two outstanding junior faculty: George Crowley (Russ Sobel student from WVU) and Dan Smith of GMU. Dan is one of my dissertation students, and he will earn his PhD in the next month or so from GMU. Dan has simply been an exemplary student here at GMU. Outstanding in the classroom as a student earning top grades, a great research assistant, a great collaborator on various projects and publications, developing his own voice research wise on self-governing systems, and doing an outstanding job as a teacher in the classroom. I expect very big things from Dan, just as I expect very big things from the Johnson Center under Scott's leadership.
Dan had a very strong showing in this very competitive job market with a significant number of interviews and campus flyouts --- some for positions at very prestigious schools/programs. But what Scott is building at Troy is one of the most exciting projects around from a free market perspective and Dan saw that as well and wanted to be part of something great from the groundfloor. Congratulations to Dan, and to Scott for being able to recruit such a stellar group from which to build the Johnson Center for Political Economy. Besides pulling for beloved Patriots on the hardwood, I guess I will now be cheering for the Troy Trojans on the gridiron. Keep up the great work down there in Alabama.
What a great group. Congratulations to everyone involved.
Posted by: Roger Koppl | March 09, 2011 at 03:56 PM
Congratulations to Dan! This is great news for the world of economics, especially great news for Troy, and of course welcome news to the rest of us at GMU. I bet we'll see a lot of great things from this group of scholars.
Posted by: Zac Gochenour | March 09, 2011 at 04:09 PM
Congratulations Dan!
Posted by: Adam | March 09, 2011 at 04:21 PM
Congrats again, Master Smith!
Posted by: Alex | March 09, 2011 at 05:06 PM
Nice work!
Look out Auburn, they are coming to get you!
They are recruiting Australians as well.
http://www.troytrojans.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=2009&path=wbball
Posted by: Rafe Champion | March 09, 2011 at 05:39 PM
Road Trips!
Posted by: Daniel J. D'Amico | March 09, 2011 at 05:58 PM
Fantastic news! Congratulations to Dan and Scott!!
Posted by: Adam Smith | March 09, 2011 at 06:12 PM
Congratulations to him. Ironically, I applied to Troy University for a job and didn't get hired there. You would think I would have gotten special consideration! ;-)
Posted by: Troy Camplin | March 10, 2011 at 02:45 AM
Congratulations, Dan! It sounds like you have a truly great opportunity to build something at Troy and you certainly have great colleagues as partners. While I love thinking and writing about ideas, my work with the Center for the Study of Political Economy at H-SC has been the most fulfilling part of my job. As I am sure Scott will tell you (and as you have no doubt witnessed with Pete) there is something incredibly empowering about cultivating students to think and write about economics. Its a tangible contribution to the world.
Of course, Congratulations go out to Scott, Dan and George as well!
Posted by: Jennifer Dirmeyer | March 10, 2011 at 09:23 AM
Great news all round - I look forward to seeing how the program develops
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