University Award for Excellence in Teaching
Corry F. Azzi, 1997
"Corry Azzi, you came to Lawrence in 1961 from the south side of Chicago equipped with your high school diploma, and returned to your alma mater in 1970 from the center of Cambridge with your Harvard Ph.D. As an undergraduate, you acquitted yourself admirably in everything from marathon games of sheepshead to macroeconomics, though not alas, in an English class with Professor Goldgar, for whom your resentment persists to this day. Not counting yourself a gentleman as a student, you could never accept a gentleman's C. But you nonetheless graduated Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude in course, and suma cum laude in independent studies for your honors project 'Economic Theory and Place: A Partial Analysis of the Economic Decisions of the Traditional Segments of Ghana's Population.' That was the last time, by the way, you offered a partial analysis of anything.
The term sotto voce has never been applied to you, except perhaps during your ambling walks across campus when you are deep in conversation with yourself. But in the classroom or the Grill, your booming voice and your body language mirror the unwavering certainty and self-confidence with which you convey your understanding of economics and of the ways the world should wag to your students and colleagues.
Hired initially as the department's macroeconomist, you have branched into such micro areas as labor economics, government regulation of business, public expenditures, and welfare economics. More recently, you have been instrumental in collaborating with colleagues in mathematics to design and develop a statistics laboratory aimed at improving student learning in econometrics. You have taught these subjects to generations of Lawrentians, and have taught as well your fellow practitioners of the dismal science, in your book on manpower programs and articles ranging from 'Ethical Judgments in Analyses of India's Sacred Cattle' to 'Household Allocation of Time and Church Attendance.' You also shared your views with your fellow citizens for a time with opinion pieces on a local radio station.
A staunch advocate of the unfettered free market, you are well and widely known for telling it as it is--or, put another way, as you read the evidence--without concern for the popularity of your position, evidenced, for example, in your argument that rational economic behavior, not discrimination, explains the wage differential between men and women. Meticulous in your teaching, devoted to the values of clear expression, you set high standards for your students, and you are, for all of the gruff exterior, a caring and sympathetic advisor. For these and other attributes and achievements, Lawrence is proud to recognize you with the Excellent Teaching Award for 1997."