John B. Shoven : An Oral History
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- John Shoven, Professor of Economics Emeritus at Stanford and the dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences from 1993 to 1998, describes his early life and education, his faculty research and teaching career, and his initiatives as a university administrator. Shoven shares memories of the Stanford Department of Economics at the time of his arrival in 1973, describes governance within the department, and offers highlights of his research and teaching experiences, including teaching in Sophomore College. Turning to his time as dean of H&S, Shoven provides details about the school’s organizational structure and administrative processes, including the role of the dean in tenure decisions. He recalls important moments from his deanship, including the closure of the Food Research Institute, curricular initiatives, and efforts to bolster faculty retention. Shoven also explains change over time in the university’s policies governing faculty retirement. He concludes the interview with a description of his tenure as director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and reflections on his career.
- Summary
- Part 1 -- Growing up in San Diego • Undergraduate studies at University of California San Diego; physics major and economics minor • Decision to pursue graduate study in economics at Yale • Yale Economics Department in the late 1960s/early 1970s • Advisor Herb Scarf and his work on general equilibrium of a model • Dissertation work • Recruitment to Stanford faculty • Stanford Department of Economics faculty in the 1970s • Housing costs • Initial teaching responsibilities, including Econ 51 and teaching public finance with Michael Boskin • Stature of Stanford Department of Economics in the 1970s versus today; historical context surrounding MIT’s top rank • Publications; working on tax policy evaluation model with US Treasury • Reflections on economics and politics •Promotion to associate professor • Support from family during his first wife's illness and death • Involvement with the National Bureau of Economic Research’s research group on pensions, retirement, and Social Security • Description of professorial ranks and tenure process in the Department of Economics and at Stanford • Vice chair role • Process for picking a department chair • Initiatives as department chair, including improving graduate student recruitment and starting a summer institute for high school economics teachers • Becoming SIEPR director • Service on presidential search committee; rationale for secrecy in the process. Part 2-- Invitation to become dean of the School of Humanities and Sciences • Prioritizing deanship over research • Curricular initiatives as dean: requiring departments to decide on core curriculums and offer a minor • Structure of the School of Humanities and Sciences, associate deans, Appointments and Promotions Committee • Tenure process from the dean’s perspective • Decision to eliminate the Food Research Institute • Strengthening the appointment and promotions process • Methods of allocating salary increases at Stanford versus public schools • Negotiating with the provost regarding the size of the raise pool • Changes in the faculty salary cap to improve retention of star faculty members • Student hunger strike and origins of the Center for the Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity (CSRE) at Stanford • Interactions with the provost and president as a faculty member and dean • Thoughts on the role of the provost at Stanford and the university’s organizational structure • Memories of service on the Faculty Senate • Evolution of Stanford’s policy and incentives on faculty retirement • Perspectives on part-time faculty • Changes to Stanford’s retirement plans • Efforts of Stanford presidents to strengthen undergraduate education • Description and memories of teaching in Sophomore College • Initiatives as director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR), including the SIEPR Economic Summit • A new building for SIEPR with help from advisory board chair John Gunn and Cynthia Gunn • Reflections on his career at Stanford and Stanford students
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Extent | 1 text file |
| Place | Stanford (Calif.) |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
| Date created | September 9, 2020 - 2020-09-10 |
| Digital origin | born digital |
Creators/Contributors
| Interviewee | Shoven, John B. | |
|---|---|---|
| Creator | Shoven, John B. | |
| Interviewer | Horton, Larry N. | |
| Publisher | Stanford Historical Society |
Subjects
| Subject | Shoven, John B. |
|---|---|
| Subject | Stanford University. Department of Economics |
| Subject | Stanford University. School of Humanities and Sciences |
| Subject | Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research |
| Genre | Interview |
Bibliographic information
| Biographical Profile | John B. Shoven is the Trione Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research and the Charles R. Schwab Professor of Economics Emeritus at Stanford. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. He specializes in public finance and corporate finance and has published on Social Security, health economics, corporate and personal taxation, mutual funds, pension plans, economic demography, and applied general equilibrium economics. |
|---|---|
| Audio |
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| Finding Aid | |
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/zy348dy8698 |
| Location | SC0932 |
| Repository | Stanford University. Libraries. Department of Special Collections and University Archives |
Access conditions
- Use and reproduction
- The materials are open for research use and may be used freely for non-commercial purposes with an attribution. For commercial permission requests, please contact the Stanford University Archives (universityarchives@stanford.edu).
- Copyright
- Copyright © The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University. All rights reserved.
Collection
Stanford Historical Society Oral History Program interviews, 1999-2022
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