Kurt C. Schaefer

I was born in 1958 in Peoria, Illinois, to a German-Lutheran family in Richard Pryor's neighborhood. My education (large urban high school to University of Michigan) was strong on the liberal arts, and led to a PhD in econometrics and the history of economic thought. I have taught mainly in New York and Michigan, but also in London, Budapest, and Oslo. After teaching for several decades, I completed a Master of Divinity degree (think of Fred Rogers or Desmond Tutu).



Most of my writing has been for scholarly journals, doing economic analysis of international trade or gender-pay differentials or poverty policy or economic thought in classical civilizations. I've directed a social research center and led an internship/seminar program on nonprofit leadership for liberal arts students. I do quite a bit of speaking at college chapel services and other church-related venues, and I am the parish accordionist (!) in my religious congregation. I definitely have the best spouse and children in the universe. As time allows, I also enjoy sailing, walking, and cooking.