FordJW Archives - Economics in the Rear-View Mirror

In this latest addition to our series “Get to Know an Economics Ph.D.” we meet a Harvard Ph.D. from 1954, James William Ford. His Ph.D. dissertation’s title was “International monetary relations and the British monetary system, 1920-1939”.

Ford’s academic path began as an undergraduate at Oberlin, then he went on to Harvard for his graduate work. Before getting his Ph.D., Ford received one of the very first round of Fulbright Fellowships to attend Cambridge University. He taught at Columbia, Vanderbilt, and Ohio State followed by two years working at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. His long final career stage was with the Ford Motor Company as a leading financial economist.

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James William Ford (1923-2017)
Obituary

James William Ford, a beloved father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, died at age 94 on November 23 at his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Mr. Ford was born February 1, 1923 in Alameda, California, the son of Eunice George Ford and Shelton C. Ford, and older brother of Eunice Ford. He is survived by his second wife, Phyllis Ford; three children, Julian Ford, Amy Milkovich, Carol Arkin; two step-children, Jessica Leix and Peter Leix; 10 grandchildren; 1 step-granddaughter; and 7 great-grandchildren. In the first three decades of his life, Mr. Ford was an outstanding student and a City of Detroit High School Debate champion, served in the Army as a meteorologist during World War II, a graduate of Oberlin College in 1947, a Master of Arts recipient in economics from Harvard University in 1949, one of the first class of Fulbright Scholars in 1951 (at Cambridge University in Great Britain), and Doctor of Philosophy recipient in economics from Harvard University in 1954. Mr. Ford taught economics at Columbia University from 1951 to 1953, at Vanderbilt University from 1953 to 1957, and Ohio State University from 1957 to 1959, before becoming a postdoctoral fellow at the University Chicago with the eminent economist Milton Friedman. Mr. Ford served as Economist to the Board of Governors at the U.S. Federal Reserve from 1959-1961. He then moved to Ford Motor Company where he worked for the rest of his career until retiring in 1988. Mr. Ford was the Assistant Controller for the Ford Motor Company Finance Staff from 1961 to 1975, Executive Vice President for Insurance and Special Finance Operations at Ford Motor Credit Company from 1975-1977, then president from 1977-1980 and Chairman,1980-1987, of Ford Motor Credit Company. At Ford Motor Company he became Vice President from 1980-1987, Executive Vice President from 1987-1988, and President of Ford Finance Services Group from 1987-1988. Under his leadership, Ford Motor Credit Company developed a program and portfolio of financial policies and investments that achieved unprecedented fiscal success for the company. He visited and met with Ford Motor Company dealership executives all over the country, developing a network of successful entrepreneurs and many close friendships that lasted throughout his retirement. After retiring at age 65, Mr. Ford was very active for the next 25 years as a Board member for several nonprofit agencies serving children and families, investment firms, and most especially with the United Methodist Retirement Community and the Towsley Center in Chelsea, Michigan, where a wing is dedicated to his mother and a garden is dedicated to his beloved first wife Anne, and with Starfish Family Services. Mr. Ford was an avid tennis player for most of his life and captained a small sailboat every weekend for many years, and followed in his mother’s tradition by traveling widely around the world. He was a devoted brother to his younger sister, Eunice, and was much loved by many other members of the Ford family and in-laws on the Farley side of his and Anne’s family, and countless close friends including members of a potluck group in Ann Arbor that convened monthly for more than four decades. According to his wishes, a gravesite service will be held at Botsford Cemetery in Ann Arbor in the Spring…

Source: Published in Ann Arbor News on Dec. 3, 2017.

Image Source: Oberlin College Yearbook, The Hi-O-Hi, p. 32.

The following letter provides interesting testimony to Franco Modigliani‘s market value in 1956 as well as how A. G. Hart hoped to offer Modigliani’s other offers together with an offer extended to James William Ford (Harvard economics Ph.D., 1954) by Ohio State University as evidential ammunition in the economics department plea for a significant increase in Columbia University salaries to remain competitive.

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[Stamp: Office of the Vice President, July 13, 1956, Columbia University]

July 8, 1956

Prof. Carl S. Shoup
Executive Officer
Department of Economics
503 Fayerweather

Dear Professor Shoup:

This is to give further background on the scrap of evidence about the adequacy of Columbia University salary scales that is offered by Franco Modigliani’s comment on our offer of a visiting professorship for next year. As your note points out, the interpretation hinges largely on his professional status.

Against our offer of $10,000 for a one-year visit, as I read Modigliani’s letter with its gentlemanly absence of specific figures, he was offered $12,000 for a year as visiting professor at Harvard and at least $12,500 as permanent professor at Berkeley, and settled for (I take it) $12,000 to stay at Carnegie Tech. His age is 37 or 38, I believe, and he has been professor for two or three years at Carnegie Tech.

Modigliani’s reputation is established, but not very wide. He has published several distinguished articles, and has important work in progress; but his only book publication to date has been a collaboration with Neisser. Furthermore, he has lacked the backing of the major graduate schools (being an immigrant with a doctorate from the New School), and has thus tended to be undervalued by the market. Besides, he suffered a setback because he had the misfortune to be in the thick of the fracas at the University of Illinois. When working conditions there became intolerable, he felt such an unconditional urge to leave that he sacrificed the bargaining power of his tenure there as associate professor. At the time he went to Carnegie Tech, he could not command a tenure appointment but went on a term arrangement which however it took them only a few months to convert to an appointment with tenure.

In short, here is the kind of man we will want when next we have an appointment to make—and undervalued rather than overvalued on the national economics market—and our salary scale is at least $2500 below what he can command at good centers with about our teaching load, and with a lower cost of living. Another interesting comparison has come in meanwhile. James Ford, whom we let go from a Columbia instructorship to be assistant professor at Vanderbilt, writes that he has refused a post at Ohio State as associate professor at $8100. This is for a man of about the caliber and stage of development we think suitable for an assistant professorship at Columbia. We must be a good $1500 below the market at that level, if this is evidence.

Very truly yours,
/s/ Albert Gailord Hart
Professor of Economics

Source: Columbia University Archives, Rare Book and Manuscript Library. Central Files, 1890-, Box 400. Folder “Shoup, Carl Sumner (2/2); 1/1956—6/1948”.

Image Source: Franco Modigliani, from MIT Museum website.

James William Ford (1923-2017) Obituary

James William Ford (1923-2017)
Obituary