Economics Chair Laband Retires

Posted December 2, 2016

David Laband, chair of the School of Economics (SOE), has decided to retire. He will step down as SOE chair and leave Georgia Tech on December 31, 2016.

In announcing Laband’s retirement, Ivan Allen College Dean Jacqueline Royster said, “During his four and a half years as school chair, David has been stalwart in his efforts to lead the School of Economics toward an ambitious new trajectory for excellence.”

Laband’s accomplishments during his leadership of the school include:

• Energized a robust dialogue about research expectations for SOE faculty and worked especially closely with junior faculty to encourage high performance.
• Oversaw the restructuring of both the undergraduate curriculum and the Master of Science degree.
• Instituted a Lunch and Learn program for employers that promoted internships and hiring opportunities for students.
• Provided vibrant leadership for SOE alumni affairs and for the school’s development agenda including the following:
  • Created the SOE Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) group.
  • Played key roles in securing the William A. Schaffer Scholarship Endowment, the Mary S. and Edward V. Byrns Scholarship Endowment Fund, and other philanthropic investments in the school.
  • Raised and awarded $100,000 in student scholarships over four years.
  • Enlarged the SOE Advisory Board and broadened the diversity of its membership.

“David has added value in raising the sight lines of the School of Economics and in enhancing the success of the Ivan Allen College more generally,” said Royster. “We appreciate his contributions to success, and we wish him good fortune as he enters this next phase of his career.” 

After earning the Ph.D. in Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Laband held faculty and other leadership positions at four universities before joining Georgia Tech’s Ivan Allen College as SOE Chair in the fall of 2012. His areas of specialization include political economy, industrial organization, labor economics, applied price theory, law and economics, and natural resources economics. He has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited nine books and published more than 130 articles in peer-reviewed journals. He is an award-winning teacher and an enthusiastic champion of excellence in economic research.