About the Lowe Institute of Political Economy
Message from the Director
Cameron Shelton, Director of the Lowe Institute of Political Economy, shares the Institute’s mission of helping students put their classroom learning into practice through research and real-life application.
Our Mission
The Lowe Institute of Political Economy has three main goals:
Our first goal is to provide students with opportunities to apply, in a supervised environment, their textbook knowledge of economics to complex problems in fields ranging from academic research to policy consulting to corporate development.
Our second goal is to promote continuing education of faculty to renew their expertise and heighten their scholarly impact.
Our third goal is to raise the profile of Claremont McKenna College.
We look forward to continuing our work of promoting scholarship while sharing helpful research and commentary that advances understanding of economic and public policy issues that impact us as a society.
Our History
The Lowe Institute of Political Economy has been championing student involvement in economic research for more than 35 years. In 1986, Claremont McKenna College President Jack Stark partnered with CMC alumnus Thomas Lowe (P’56, ’62, GP ’08) to establish an institute dedicated to economics.
View the Lowe Institute’s historical timeline.
The Lowe Institute of Political Economy emerged with this definition of political economy, which is still reflected in the Institute’s bylaws: “The focus of Political Economy is on how society’s institutions affect and are affected by economic affairs.”
Thomas Lowe’s son Robert “Bob” Lowe, a ’62 graduate of Claremont McKenna College, stepped up with a desire to help lead the Institute both financially and operationally. He was nominated and unanimously approved as the Institute’s first chairman, and he maintains this position to this day.
Where We Are Today
Today, the Lowe Institute is one of 11 undergraduate research institutes at Claremont McKenna College, giving students from all five Claremont McKenna colleges opportunities to conduct graduate-level research in conjunction with distinguished faculty. These are opportunities that are unmatched at liberal arts colleges around the world.
Over the decades, the Lowe Institute of Political Economy has become a mainstay for economic analysis within the local region, as well as critical training grounds for future economists.
Meet Our Board of Directors
Robert J. Lowe '62
Founder/Chairman
Lowe Enterprises, Inc.
Aanchal Bindal ’11 Investment Analyst, Capital Group | American Funds
Robert M. Cheney ’94 Founder and Wealth Advisor, Westridge Wealth Strategies
Bill Cramer ’75 President, Star Milling Co.
Hiram Chodosh President, Claremont McKenna College
Billie C. Greer Public Policy Advisor
Scott Kaufman ’99 Founder, SRK Properties, Inc.
Beth Lowe Community Volunteer
Joseph D. Matt ’99 Partner, Capital Research Global Investors
Robert K. Montgomery Senior Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Richard Newman, Jr. President and CEO, Global Infrastructure Solutions, Inc.
Lara Regus Senior Vice President, Real Estate Development, Abode Communities
Michael Reynolds Principal, The Concorde Group
William Rothacker ’73 President and CEO, Cadence Capital Investments
Cameron A. Shelton Director, Lowe Institute of Political Economy, Claremont McKenna College
Our Research & Student Opportunities
As a leading political economy research center in Southern California, the Lowe Institute provides data-driven economic findings and analysis that help us better understand the world we live in. The political economy research sponsored by the Lowe Institute covers a wide range of economic and public policy issues, pertaining to healthcare, international finance, labor economics, industrial organization, environmental economics, and much more.
Our research spans from regional economic forecasts and reports to research papers on national and even global issues.
Each year, the Lowe Institute employs many students from CMC and the other Claremont Colleges as research assistants who work under the supervision of faculty. This model allows the student researchers to solidify their understanding of economics and to apply economic theory to a variety of real-world problems.
The Lowe Institute also sponsors merit-based summer internships with awards up to $10,000 for individual students.
Our Conference Series
The Lowe Institute of Political Economy co-sponsors a public lecture series with the Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum to bring distinguished scholars to CMC to discuss important public policy issues. Recent presentations include stock markets in developing countries, U.S. student loan debt forgiveness, and the economics of immigration.
The Lowe Institute also co-sponsors workshops and conferences that cover a range of economic topics. The annual Southern California Conference in Applied Microeconomics, or SoCCAM, invites scholars in the region to present their latest academic research.
Connect with the
Lowe Institute
Whether you want to know more about our research, you need analysis from a political economy expert, or you’re a student who wants to join our team, we want to hear from you.