Christina Paxson

Last updated

Christina Paxson
Christina paxson.jpg
Paxson in 2012
19th President of Brown University
Assumed office
July 1, 2012

Christina Hull Paxson (born February 6, 1960) is an American economist and public health expert serving as the 19th president of Brown University. Previously, she was the Hughes Rogers Professor of Economics & Public Affairs at Princeton University as well as the dean of Princeton School of Public and International Affairs. [1] [2]

Contents

In March 2012, Paxson was selected as the 19th president of Brown University. She officially succeeded Ruth Simmons on July 1, 2012, and was inaugurated on October 27, 2012. [3] [4]

Early life and education

After spending her childhood in Forest Hills, a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Paxson received her B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1982, where she majored in economics and minored in English and philosophy as a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. [5] [6]

Originally a graduate student at Columbia University's Business School, Paxson transferred to Columbia's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, receiving her M.A. and Ph.D. in economics, in 1985 and 1987, respectively, with a focus on labor. [1] [7] Paxson was advised by Joseph Altonji and her dissertation involved analyzing the effects of consumer interest rates on the consumer credit market. [7]

Career

In 2000, she founded the Center for Health and Wellbeing at Princeton, an interdisciplinary research center based in the Woodrow Wilson School. She served as the chair of Princeton's Economics Department in academic year 2008–09. She was also the founding director of an NIA Center for the Economics and Demography of Aging at Princeton. [1] During her time at Princeton, Paxson also served as a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. [8]

Paxson's most recent research focuses on the impact of childhood health and circumstances on economic and health outcomes over the lifecourse; the impact of the AIDS crisis on children's health and education in Africa; and the long run consequences of Hurricane Katrina on the mental and physical health of vulnerable populations. Paxson has been a Senior Editor of The Future of Children , an interdisciplinary journal that works to build a bridge between cutting edge social science research and the policy community.

Brown University

Christina Paxson at Brown
Brown president Christina Paxson.jpg
Paxson presided over Brown's 250th anniversary celebration in 2014
Richard Gouse and Christina Paxson.jpg
Honoring Richard I. Gouse '68, primary donor of the Richard Gouse Field at Brown Stadium, in 2021

As President of Brown University, Paxson has focused on a set of strategic goals announced in 2014; among these institutional priorities are data science, the creative arts, and brain science. [9] Under Paxson's leadership, the University has established a School of Public Health as well as numerous centers and institutes including the Brown Arts Institute, the Brown Institute for Translational Science, the Data Science Initiative, and the Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship.

For three consecutive years under her leadership, Brown students and graduates have earned the most Fulbright Scholarships of all U.S. Universities. [10]

She has also sustained undergraduate financial aid as the fastest growing area of Brown's budget by increasing scholarships for low-income families and eliminating loans from University-awarded financial aid packages, as part of The Brown Promise, in addition to Brown's Pathways to Diversity and Inclusion action plan. [10]

Paxson has overseen a considerable expansion of Brown's academic, performing arts, and residential facilities. Expansion of Brown's physical footprint under Paxson's leadership has been controversial, at times spurring criticism from community organizations and preservation groups. [11] [12] [13] [14]

In 2019, she told the University that she would not honor a student-sponsored referendum calling for Brown to divest from companies that engage in human rights abuses in Palestine, and said that it would not be possible to make the details of the University's investments available to the public. [15] [16] She has been a member of the Kol Emet congregation, a Jewish Reconstructionist synagogue, committed to the growth of a spiritually and intellectually engaging Judaism. [17] [18] [19]

A Fall 2021 poll conducted by The Brown Daily Herald found that 47.1% of surveyed students "strongly" or "somewhat" disapproved of Paxson's leadership while 32.8% "strongly" or "somewhat" approved. [20] The publication's Fall 2017 poll placed Paxson's approval rating at 61.9%. [21] [22]

Other Activities

In 2013, Paxson wrote a New Republic op-ed, arguing for ongoing relevance of the humanities from an economist's perspective. [23]

Paxson has also maintained numerous institutional affiliations: in addition to being a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2017. [24] [25] The previous year, she became a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. After serving as its deputy chair, she became the chair of its board of directors in 2021. [26] [27] [28] In 2018, Paxson received an honorary doctorate from Williams College. [29]

In wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Paxson penned a New York Times op-ed and appeared on CNN, outlining her views on the importance of reopening colleges safely in the fall of 2020. [30] [31] On June 4, 2020, Paxson testified before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, during a hearing entitled "COVID-19: Going Back to College Safely." [32]

Personal life

Paxson is married to Ari Gabinet and has two children, Nicholas and Benjamin. [7] Raised a Quaker, she converted to her husband's Jewish faith. [33]

Selected publications

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown University</span> Private university in Providence, Rhode Island, US

Brown University is a private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island. It is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded at 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. One of nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution, it was the first college in the United States to codify in its charter that admission and instruction of students was to be equal regardless of their religious affiliation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Heckman</span> American economist (born 1944)

James Joseph Heckman is an American economist and Nobel laureate who serves as the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, where he is also a professor at the College, a professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, Director of the Center for the Economics of Human Development (CEHD), and Co-Director of Human Capital and Economic Opportunity (HCEO) Global Working Group. He is also a professor of law at the Law School, a senior research fellow at the American Bar Foundation, and a research associate at the NBER. He received the John Bates Clark Medal in 1983, and the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2000, which he shared with Daniel McFadden. He is known principally for his pioneering work in econometrics and microeconomics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shirley M. Tilghman</span> Canadian molecular biologist and president emerita of Princeton University

Shirley Marie Tilghman, is a Canadian scholar in molecular biology and an academic administrator. She is now a professor of molecular biology and public policy and president emerita of Princeton University. In 2002, Discover magazine recognized her as one of the 50 most important women in science.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton School of Public and International Affairs</span> Public policy school of Princeton University

The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive coursework in the fields of international development, foreign policy, science and technology, and economics and finance through its undergraduate (AB) degrees, graduate Master of Public Affairs (MPA), Master of Public Policy (MPP), and PhD degrees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs</span> Research center at Brown University

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs is an interdisciplinary research center at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Its mission is to promote a just and peaceful world through research, teaching, and public engagement. The institute's research focuses on three main areas: development, security, and governance. Its faculty include anthropologists, economists, political scientists, sociologists, and historians, as well as journalists and other practitioners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angus Deaton</span> British-American economist (born 1945)

Sir Angus Stewart Deaton is a British-American economist and academic. Deaton is currently a Senior Scholar and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Professor of Economics and International Affairs Emeritus at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the Economics Department at Princeton University. His research focuses primarily on poverty, inequality, health, wellbeing, and economic development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ruth Simmons</span> American scholar and academic administrator

Ruth Simmons is an American professor and academic administrator. Simmons served as the eighth president of Prairie View A&M University, a HBCU, from 2017 until 2023. From 2001 to 2012, she served as the 18th president of Brown University, where she was the first African American president of an Ivy League institution. While there, Simmons was named, best college president by Time magazine. Before Brown University, she headed Smith College, one of the Seven Sisters and the largest women's college in the United States, beginning in 1995. There, during her presidency, the first accredited program in engineering was started at an all-women's college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glenn Loury</span> American economist, academic, and author (born 1948)

Glenn Cartman Loury, is an American economist, academic, and author. He is the Merton P. Stoltz Professor of the Social Sciences and Professor of Economics at Brown University, where he has taught since 2005. At the age of 33, Loury became the first African American professor of economics at Harvard University to gain tenure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David E. Bloom</span> Author, professor, economist, demographer

David E. Bloom is an American author, professor, economist, and demographer. He is a Professor of Economics and Demography at the Harvard School of Public Health, and director of the Program on the Global Demography of Aging. He is widely considered as one of the greatest multidisciplinary social science researchers of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Romer</span> Economist

Christina Duckworth Romer is the Class of 1957 Garff B. Wilson Professor of Economics at the University of California, Berkeley and a former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Obama administration. She resigned from her role on the Council of Economic Advisers on September 3, 2010.

David Hibbard Romer is an American economist, the Herman Royer Professor of Political Economy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of a standard textbook in graduate macroeconomics as well as many influential economic papers, particularly in the area of New Keynesian economics. He is also the husband and close collaborator of Council of Economic Advisers former Chairwoman Christina Romer.

Dora L. Costa is an American economics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles where she is the Kenneth L. Sokoloff Professor of Economic History. She is also the department chair of the economics department. In addition to her teaching position, Costa is a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Janet Currie is a Canadian-American economist and the Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at Princeton University's School of Public and International Affairs, where she is Co-Director of the Center for Health and Wellbeing. She served as the Chair of the Department of Economics at Princeton from 2014–2018. She also served as the first female Chair of the Department of Economics at Columbia University from 2006–2009. Before Columbia, she taught at the University of California, Los Angeles and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was named one of the top 10 women in economics by the World Economic Forum in July 2015. She was recognized for her mentorship of younger economists with the Carolyn Shaw Bell Award from the American Economics Association in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loretta J. Mester</span> American businesswoman

Loretta J. Mester is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anne Case</span> American economist

Anne Catherine Case, Lady Deaton, is an American economist who is currently the Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, emeritus, at Princeton University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance</span> Economic research institute at Princeton University

The Julis-Rabinowitz Center for Public Policy and Finance (JRC) is a leading research center at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (SPIA) of Princeton University. Founded in 2011, the JRC primarily promotes research on public policy as it relates to financial markets and macroeconomics. The center has also expanded its research and teaching to multiple disciplines, including economics, operations research, political science, history, and ethics.

Adriana Lleras-Muney is a Colombian-American economist. She is currently a professor in the Department of Economics at UCLA. She was appointed as Associate Editor for the Journal of Health Economics in 2014, and she was elected as one of the six members of the American Economic Association Executive committee in 2018. Her research focuses on socio-economic status and health with a particular emphasis on education, income, and economic development. In 2017, she was received the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers from President Obama.

Bina Venkataraman is an American science policy expert, author, and journalist. She is currently a Columnist at The Washington Post. She previously served as the Editorial Page Editor of The Boston Globe and as a senior advisor for Climate Change Innovation under President Barack Obama's administration. She also advised the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and has taught at MIT and the Harvard Kennedy School.

The 2021 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was divided one half awarded to the American-Canadian David Card "for his empirical contributions to labour economics", the other half jointly to Israeli-American Joshua Angrist and Dutch-American Guido W. Imbens "for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships." The Nobel Committee stated their reason behind the decision, saying:

"This year's Laureates – David Card, Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens – have shown that natural experiments can be used to answer central questions for society, such as how minimum wages and immigration affect the labour market. They have also clarified exactly which conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn using this research approach. Together, they have revolutionised empirical research in the economic sciences."

The 2022 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was divided equally between the American economists Ben S. Bernanke, Douglas W. Diamond, and Philip H. Dybvig "for research on banks and financial crises" on 10 October 2022. The award was established in 1968 by an endowment "in perpetuity" from Sweden's central bank, Sveriges Riksbank, to commemorate the bank's 300th anniversary. Laureates in the Memorial Prize in Economics are selected by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. The Nobel Committee announced the reason behind their recognition, stating:

"This year's laureates in the Economic Sciences, Ben Bernanke, Douglas Diamond and Philip Dybvig, have significantly improved our understanding of the role of banks in the economy, particularly during financial crises. An important finding in their research is why avoiding bank collapses is vital."

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Biography – Office of the President". Brown University. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  2. Lewin, Tamar (March 2, 2012). "Christina Hull Paxson Chosen as President of Brown". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  3. "The Inauguration of Christina Hull Paxson". Brown University. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  4. "Economist Christina Hull Paxson elected 19th president of Brown University". Brown University. March 2, 2012. Retrieved October 27, 2012.
  5. "President Christina H. Paxson | Office of the President". Brown University. Retrieved December 7, 2021.
  6. Thornton, Lucy Feldman,Sahil Luthra,Kat (March 5, 2012). "'People person' leaves mark on Princeton". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. 1 2 3 "Who is Christina Paxson?". Brown Alumni Magazine. November 27, 2012. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  8. "NBER Bulletin on Aging and Health". www.nber.org. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  9. "Brain science at forefront of Brown scholarship priorities". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  10. 1 2 "President Christina H. Paxson | Office of the President | Brown University". www.brown.edu. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  11. Gagosz, Alexa (June 1, 2021). "On Providence's East Side, a battle brews between Brown University and longtime residents - The Boston Globe". Boston Globe . Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  12. Journal, William Morgan Special to The. "Brown's ERC is a cutting-edge facility". The Providence Journal. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  13. "Demolition remains ongoing on Brook Street dorm site". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  14. "$31.6 million gift will help fund performing arts center, strategic priorities for Brown". Brown University. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  15. "Letter from President Paxson: Responding to divestment referendum vote". Brown University. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  16. Bandler, Aaron (March 22, 2019). "Brown University President Rejects Anti-Israel Student Vote". Jewish Journal. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  17. "Congregation Kol Emet" . Retrieved March 2, 2019.
  18. "Masks" (PDF). www.kolemet.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 2, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  19. "Promises" (PDF). www.kolemet.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 3, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2013.
  20. "The Herald's Fall 2021 Poll". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  21. "Herald Fall 2017 Poll Results and Methodology". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved March 24, 2022.
  22. "Spring 2019 Herald poll results". The Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  23. "The Economic Case for Saving the Humanities". New Republic. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  24. "Brown's president named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences". Brown University. April 11, 2017. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  25. "Membership Roster". Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  26. Boston, Federal Reserve Bank of (January 2017). "Christina Hull Paxson - Federal Reserve Bank of Boston". Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  27. Goldberg, Daniel (January 22, 2019). "Paxson named deputy chair of Boston Fed". Brown Daily Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2019.
  28. Boston, Federal Reserve Bank of (January 1, 2017). "Christina Hull Paxson". Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  29. "Williams College awards honorary degree to President Paxson" . Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  30. Paxson, Christina (April 26, 2020). "Opinion | College Campuses Must Reopen in the Fall. Here's How We Do It". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  31. Meg Wagner; Mike Hayes; Elise Hammond; Veronica Rocha (April 28, 2020). "Schools might not recover if they don't reopen in the fall, university president says". CNN. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  32. "Paxson tells U.S. Senate stakes are high as universities seek to safely reopen". Brown University. Retrieved June 10, 2020.
  33. "Why I Am a Jew". Brown Alumni Magazine. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
Academic offices
Preceded by19th President of Brown University
July 1, 2012–present
Incumbent
Preceded by Dean
Woodrow Wilson School
Princeton University

2009-2012
Succeeded by