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 seminary degree. (I aspire to emulate Fred Rogers or Desmond Tutu in this.)

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 non-profit 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. I also enjoy woodworking, sailing, walking, and cooking.