Included in the materials from the 1949-50 hiring search for someone to teach in Columbia College was a mimeographed fact-sheet/transcript for 28 year old Thomas Schelling together with a departmental statement provided by the Chairman of the Harvard Department of Economics, Harold Burbank. I think we can be pretty sure that both items were attached to a letter Burbank sent to Angell dated December 14, 1949 in which Tobin and Schelling were discussed with supporting data (cf. Appendix C in the Hiring Committee’s Report of January 9, 1950 that clearly provides information on Tobin from the same letter).
Interesting to note perhaps is (i) the future Nobel laureate did not get short-listed by the search committee and (ii) “his interest is mainly in the national income, fiscal policy approach” might have been a contemporary euphemism or dog-whistle for “Keynesian economist”.
In any event, I am delighted whenever I find the complete graduate course records of Ph.D.’s. I have filled in the names of the instructors for the respective courses based on the Harvard President’s Reports.
____________________
Thomas Crombie Schelling
Address: Program Division, ECA-OSR [Economic Cooperation Administration, Office of the Special Representative (Administration of the Marshall Plan)], 2 Rue Saint Florentin, Paris, France
Born: April 14, 1921, U.S.
Married: Yes
Degrees:
A.B., 1944, University of California (Highest honors)
A.M., 1948, Harvard University
Experience:
1941-43 American Embassy, Santiago, Chile
1945-46 U. S. Bureau of Budget, Fiscal Division
1946-48 Teaching Fellow, Harvard
1948 Elected to Society of Fellows, resigned September, 1949
1948- ECA, Copenhagen Paris
Courses:
Summer 1946
Ec. 201 (Reading) Satis.
Fall 1946-47
Ec. 103a (Adv. theory [Schumpeter]) A+
Ec. 104b (Math. Ec. [Leontief]) A+
Ec. 148a (Int. Tr. Sem. [sic, 148a was Fiscal Policy Seminar with Williams and Hansen]) A-
Spring 1946-47
Ec. 103b (Adv. Theory [Schumpeter])) A+
Ec. 121b (Statistics [Frickey])) A-
Ec 148b (Int. Tr. Sem. [sic, 148a was Fiscal Policy Seminar with Williams and Hansen])) A-
Summer 1947
Ec. 201 (Reading) Satis.
Fall 1947-48
Ec. 102a (Adv. Theory [Leontief]) A+
Ec. 133a (History [Usher]) A-
Ec. 161a (Ind. Org. [Alexander and Crum]) A+
Spring 1947-48
Ec. 102b (Adv. Theory [Leontief]) Exc.
Ec. 133b (Ec. History[Usher]) A
Ec. 162b (Ind. Org. [Mason]) Exc.
Fields of study: Economic Theory, Industrial Organization, Money and Banking, Statistics, write-off, Economic History; special field, Business Cycles
Generals: Passed April 7, 1948 with a grade of Excellent Minus
____________________
[Supporting Statement
by Chairman of the Harvard Economics Department,
14 Dec. 1949(?)]
Schelling came to us immediately after the war with a quite extraordinary record in his undergraduate work at Berkeley and an outstanding war accomplishment in the Bureau of the Budget. His intellectual work with us was of the highest order, so high indeed that he was recommended for the Society of Fellows and accepted by them. However, Schelling saw fit to accept a position with the E.C.A. and at the end of the first year elected to stay with that organization even at the expense of resigning his fellowship. I have not heard from him directly but I understand that he intends to take his degree this spring and will be available.
The members of the staff most familiar with Schelling’s work—Hansen, Harris, and Smithies—regard him as one of the very top students we have had at least in the last ten years. I believe those mentioned will recommend him without qualification. It is true that his interest is mainly in the national income, fiscal policy approach, which I believe is one of the areas in which you are least interested, but he certainly is capable of working in theory and perhaps in other areas as well.
Very sincerely,
[signed]
H. H. Burbank
Professor James W. Angell
Columbia University
New York 27, New York
____________________
Source: Department of Economics Collection, Columbia University Archive. Box 6, Folder: “Columbia College”.
Image Source: Harvard Kennedy School Magazine, Summer 2012.