The real-world power of economist Michael Murray鈥檚 teaching is on display everywhere his former students go.
Take, for example, Analysis Group in Boston, which has had an active alumni connection since its co-founding by trustee emeritus Bruce Stangle 鈥�70 in 1981.
Jim Hughes, one of Murray鈥檚 乐播传媒 colleagues, does consulting at Analysis Group. More than once, a former Murray student now working at Analysis has given Hughes 鈥渁 lecture on the econometric techniques needed for a project that I鈥檓 working on. It blows me away.鈥�
鈥淢ichael just makes econometrics click for them in a way that other people don鈥檛.鈥�
Making things click for generations of 乐播传媒 students is why Murray, the Phillips Professor of Economics and a member of the faculty since 1986, has won the 2017 Kroepsch Award for Excellence in Teaching, the college鈥檚 top teaching honor carrying a $5,000 prize.
As Hughes鈥� anecdote indicates, one of Murray鈥檚 courses (he鈥檚 taught 16 different ones at 乐播传媒) is econometrics, a notoriously difficult course at any college because it asks students to use math and statistics to grasp the workings of economic systems.
Students don鈥檛 just rave about Murray鈥檚 ability to communicate econometrics. They say he even makes it fun. 鈥淗e made complex concepts enjoyable and interesting to learn,鈥� says Sarah Centanni 鈥�17 of Hingham, Mass.
To his students, Michael Murray is 鈥減assionate, intelligent, funny, caring, and personable,鈥� says a former student. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)
Murray has written the book on understanding econometrics, literally. His textbook, Econometrics: A Modern Introduction, was published in 2005. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite different from other textbooks,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n that sense, I teach the subject in a very different manner.鈥�
It鈥檚 a manner that studiously avoids what he calls 鈥渂lack boxes,鈥� which symbolize memorizing. In his book and in his classroom, Murray instead tries to give his students an understanding of econometric theory, rather than simple proficiency in using the various tools of the field, including econometric software.
With that approach, he鈥檚 passing on a maxim from his own school days.
An amateur actor who鈥檚 been in many 乐播传媒 theater productions, Murray adopts the character of a beloved high school math teacher who spoke with a nasal twang and would draw out certain words. Time and again, the teacher would tell Murray and his classmates, 鈥淒on鈥檛 memorize. Understaaaannnd.鈥�
And his students do. 鈥淧rofessor Murray lays out the base of the material in class and he pushes you, the student, to find the answers on your own,鈥� says Dan Willsey 鈥�18 of Glastonbury, Conn. 鈥淗e holds his students to an incredibly high standard.鈥�
鈥淲hen I did not understand some material during the course, he talked with me for over an hour until I got it,鈥� recalls Shelby Rader 鈥�17 of Duxbury, Mass.
Here are some scenes of Murray in the classroom as he talks about teaching 乐播传媒 students:
In courses like econometrics or statistics, an array of software 鈥� STATA, Eviews, R, or SPSS 鈥� can crunch right through problems that Murray is trying to get his students to understand.
Leaning on those tools, 鈥渋t鈥檚 easy to decide that you want to get your students to learn the mechanics of an analysis,鈥� says Murray. 鈥淚 figure our students are bright enough to figure out the mechanics. They鈥檒l benefit most from the stuff they couldn鈥檛 learn for themselves. And that鈥檚 understanding.鈥�
Hughes, the college鈥檚 Sowell Professor of Economics and Murray鈥檚 colleague since 1992, says the stakes are high when it comes to teaching topics like econometrics or statistics, which he teaches.
It鈥檚 a 鈥渄angerous thing,鈥� he says, for teachers to succumb to the 鈥渢emptation to teach econometrics and stats by saying, 鈥楲et the computer do it.鈥� Or just teaching students that 鈥榳hen faced with this, do that,鈥� figuring, 鈥榃ho cares? You鈥檙e just going to be a research assistant.鈥欌��
Students can get by on that kind of teaching, he says, 鈥渂ut Michael鈥檚 talent is to get his students to want to go deeper.鈥�
Understanding doesn鈥檛 come cheaply, in terms of Murray鈥檚 time investment. Students repeatedly mention long office hours, three-hour study sessions before exams, and the time he drove to 乐播传媒 from Portland after returning on an evening flight in order to hold a 10:30 p.m. study session.
Students and his colleagues also routinely praise Murray鈥檚 enthusiasm in the classroom. Actor that he is, he nevertheless disagrees that he鈥檚 playing a part 鈥� an econ version of Dead Poets Society 鈥� as he enthuses about this or that econometric model in a Pettengill Hall classroom.
Economics professor Michael Murray works with students in his econometrics course on April 3 during the final week of classes. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)
Murray recalls teaching at the University of Virginia in the 1970s, where he had two sections of an economics course, each with 600 students. There, 鈥渢he skills I use in theater are very valuable. I can project my voice. I can project my presence. I can move in ways that will hold people鈥檚 attention.鈥� In those settings, 鈥渢here鈥檚 a point at which teaching has become performance,鈥� he says.
At 乐播传媒, classes are much, much smaller. 鈥淚 can be myself,鈥� he says. For students, Murray being Murray means experiencing someone who鈥檚 鈥減assionate, intelligent, funny, caring, and personable,鈥� says Cosmin Bardan 鈥�16. That authentic love of his work resonates with his students. Murray鈥檚 鈥減ure love of the field,鈥� Centanni adds, made her 鈥渕ore invested in my work.鈥�
Still, Murray is an entertaining figure in class, which does serve the purpose, he says, of 鈥渋nfusing energy into the room.鈥�
“Economics 鈥� love it though I do 鈥� is a subject that can easily put people to sleep and make them tune out,鈥� Hughes says. 鈥淲hether you call it performance or you call it agitation, what Michael does is convey his excitement and his belief in the importance of what he is putting across in a way that makes students sit up and say, 鈥業 really need to know this.鈥欌��
鈥淭he way Michael鈥檚 mind works, he鈥檚 thinking, 鈥榃ow, so you didn鈥檛 understand it that way? OK, I just thought of another three ways, and if you still don鈥檛 get it, I鈥檒l come up with six more ways to teach it, until I finally see the light bulb come on over your head.鈥�
And the bulb usually blinks bright. 鈥淚 have never had a professor who cared so much about making sure students understand,鈥� says Alexander Stekler 鈥�17 of Avon, Conn., while Centanni talks about the feeling of 鈥渏oy and satisfaction when a complex problem finally clicked.鈥� (And yes, we鈥檙e still talking about economics.)
In the end, Murray says his classroom style is all about 鈥渆stablishing relationships with the individual students.鈥�
And that, he says, 鈥渋s what makes it really pleasurable to teach at 乐播传媒.鈥�
