Michael S. McPherson

Michael S. McPherson is an American economist who was the 15th president of Macalester College between 1996 and 2003.^[1][2][3] Before Macalester, McPherson taught economics at Williams College, where he was also chair of economics department and dean of the faculty.^[4] After leaving Macalester, he led the Spencer Foundation for fourteen years before retiring in 2017, where he is president emeritus.^[5]

Education

McPherson graduated from the University of Chicago with a bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1967. He continued at the University of Chicago for his graduate studies, and received a PhD in economics in 1974.^[4][6]

Career

Before joining Macalester, taught at Williams College for twenty-two years as a professor of economics.^[7] At Williams he was also chair of the Economics Department and dean of the faculty.^[6] McPherson's academic work mainly focuses on the relationship between economics and higher education. He has co-written several books with economist Morton O. Schapiro, the 16th president of Williams College and 16th president of Northwestern University.^[8][9][10]

As president of Macalester, McPherson changed the organization of the Presbyterian-affiliated college's chaplaincy, also making Macalester's chaplain the associate dean of religious and spiritual life.^[11]

McPherson has had fellowships from the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the Brookings Institution, the Mellon Foundation, and the Urban Institute.^[12] He served on the board of Wesleyan University, and is an advisor at the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at Stanford University.^[13][14] McPherson is a fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and in 2022 he spoke at a Northwestern University symposium honoring Morton Schapiro.^[14][15]

Works

• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (1990). Selective Admission and the Public Interest. College Board. ISBN 978-0-87447-399-5
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (1991). Keeping College Affordable: Government and Educational Opportunity. Brookings Institution Press. ISBN 978-0-8157-5641-5
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton; Winston, Gordon (1994). Paying the Piper: Productivity, Incentives, and Financing in U.S. Higher Education. University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-10404-8
• Michael S. McPherson and Morton Owen Schapiro, The Student Aid Game: Meeting Need and Rewarding Talent in American Higher Education (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1998)
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (2006). College Access: Opportunity or Privilege?. College Board. ISBN 978-0-87447-774-0
• McPherson, Michael; Schapiro, Morton (2008). College Success: What It Means and How to Make It Happen. College Board. ISBN 978-0-87447-830-3
• Bowen, William G; Chingos, Matthew M; McPherson M. S (2009). Crossing the Finish Line: Completing College at America's Public Universities. Princeton University Press.
• Brighouse, Harry; McPherson (2015). The Aims of Higher Education: Problems of Morality and Justice. University of Chicago Press.