Economics Improvement Fund
We wish to thank all of our supporters who have contributed to the Economics Improvement Fund.
Sponsoring visiting scholars and conferences, providing support to outstanding students, acquiring
specialized teaching and research materials, providing valuable training opportunities, purchasing
software and hardware, and covering expenses related to recruiting and other department activities--
these are some of the ways in which monies from the Economics Improvement Fund stimulate and enrich
academic life. The department of economics relies on unrestricted contributions to the Fund to support
these vital areas for which no adequate state funds exist.
We give special thanks to:
Campbell R. McConnell
Established by the McGraw-Hill Foundation with generous support from Dr. Campbell R. (Mac) McConnell
and others, proceeds from The Campbell R. McConnell Fund for Excellence in Economics fund are used to
support several programs in the Department.
Campbell R. McConnell earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa after receiving degrees
from Cornell College and the University of Illinois. He taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
from 1953 until his retirement in 1990. He is best known as author of Economics, the best-selling
economics textbook in the world. An estimated 14 million students have used Economics or its companion
editions. It has been translated into Italian, Russian Chinese, French, Spanish, Portuguese and other
languages. He is also co-author of Contemporary Labor Economics He is a recipient of both the University
of Nebraska Distinguished Teaching Award and the James A. Lake Academic Freedom Award and is past president
of the Midwest Economics Association. Professor McConnell was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree
from Cornell College in 1973 and received its Distinguished Achievement Award in 1994. His primary areas
of interest are labor economics and economic education. He has an extensive collection of jazz recordings
and enjoys reading jazz history.
Campbell R. McConnell Awards - provides scholastic awards to outstanding full-time graduate and
undergraduate students majoring in economics.
Campbell R. McConnell Seminars - funds colloquia and seminars devoted to major economic issues to
be presented by renowned scholars and experts in their fields.
The Robert C. and Patricia N. Bingham Economics Fellowship Fund is dedicated to providing financial
assistance to those planning a teaching career in economics at the post-secondary level. The fellowships
commemorate the Bingham's years at Nebraska (1955-1962) and particularly Professor Bingham's devotion to teaching
economics. Each fellowship supplements a graduate assistantship for one academic year.
Dr. Robert C. Bingham was an undergraduate student at DePauw University and obtained M.A. and
Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern University. He taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from
1955 to 1962, where he was a colleague of Professor McConnell. He moved to Kent State University where
he was promoted to full professor in 1967 and from which he retired in 1985. He was a devoted teacher.
His research focused on pedagogy. He was a pioneer in the programmed learning approach and his Study Guide
contributed in no small way to the success of McConnell's influential textbook. His books include, Study
Guide to accompany McConnell's textbook.(14 editions), Mathematically Speaking, 1972, and Economic Concepts:
a Programmed Approach (7-editions.)
The Jerry L. Petr Scholarship Fund provides financial support to outstanding undergraduate students in
the College of Arts and Sciences or the College of Business.
Dr. Jerry L. Petr earned both his M.A. and Ph.D. from Indiana University in 1967 after completing his
undergraduate work at Cornell University in 1961. He joined the faculty at Nebraska in 1966 and retired after
35 years in 2001. He was honored with numerous teaching awards including a Fulbright Lectureship in
Czechoslovakia in 1992. His scholarly research ranged from the history of economic thought to the study
of Soviet-type economies. He conducted seminal research in Economics Education, including his book, A
Personalized System of Instruction to Accompany McConnell: Economics, 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill
Book Co., 1975.