In a ceremony infused with warmth and humor, as well as lessons in both economics and life, Julio Garín was recently installed as the Peter K. Barker ’70 P’01 Associate Professor of Economics and George R. Roberts Fellow at Claremont McKenna College.
During the April 22 lunchtime event at the Athenaeum, Heather Antecol, Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of the Faculty, and Boswell Professor of Economics, presented Garín with a medallion to symbolize the honor.
Antecol recognized Garín, who joined the CMC faculty in 2017, for his research and teaching excellence. She cited his publishing accomplishments, including the Review of Economics and Statistics; the American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics; Journal of Money, Credit and Banking; and the European Economic Review. In addition, Antecol noted that Garín has co-authored a macroeconomics textbook, “which has been used at over 40 institutions across 12 countries. And he has been a visiting scholar of several central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Finland.”
Garín, she continued, “is particularly interested in understanding the role of frictions and market imperfections, measuring well-being, and the extent to which policy interventions may help to ameliorate undesirable outcomes.”
In his talk, “Me as a Rolling Stone: Thoughts of a Perpetual Student,” Garín shared his personal journey and why he is drawn to the metaphor of a rolling stone.
“I love the idea of a rolling stone, as it essentially captures the dynamics of how we go through life, but also captures the idea of frictions, interactions. In life we have interactions … when we go about our lives … we are not the same stone we were a little bit ago, and we are not going to be the same stone in a couple of days,” said Garín, who grew up in Cuaró, a neighborhood of Rivera, a city split between Uruguay and Brazil.
In her remarks, Antecol acknowledged CMC Trustee Peter Barker ‘70 P’01 as “a generous philanthropist to the College.”
Barker established the Peter K. Barker ’70 P’01 Professorship of Economics in 2007 and has made numerous other key investments in the College. He serves as Vice Chair of the CMC Board of Trustees, is Board Chair Emeritus, and has held several other key leadership positions at the College, including his current role as Co-Chair of the Robert Day School Board of Advisors.