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Principles Of Environmental Economics 2nd Edition,     
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1996 Lucasse Lectureship Speech

I.  Preface

    I am truly honored to be the recipient of the 1996 Florence J. Lucasse Lectureship award.  I would like to thank all of you very much, for joining me and my family to celebrate this happy occasion.   This award means a lot to me for the following three reasons. 

    First, to me, this award represents a clear confirmation by my colleagues and students about the high esteem they have of me as a teacher--my chosen profession.

    Second, it means a good deal to me to receive this award from an institution where excellence in teaching is expected by students and accepted as a norm by the faculty.  Believe me, K-College is blessed with many dedicated and outstanding teachers. 

    Third, this award has been a source of happiness and pride not just for me, but for the entire Hussen clan.

II.  Introductory Remarks 

    When I began preparing for the “brief” remark that I am about to make tonight, I started with a firm decision that, whatever topic I choose to speak on, it should be something that would inform the audience (you) about me. (That is, who I am, what I do, what turns me on and what concerns me most.)  Once I made this crucial initial decision, several ideas started to cross my mind.  Before I start discussing the main topic that I finally chose for tonight, I thought it would be quite appropriate to give you quick synopsis of some of the other topics that I have been seriously considering for this event.

   Topic #1:  What is a son of a very pious and illiterate salt merchant from a very isolated place in Africa doing in a place like this--one of the elite private colleges in America?  You may say, what is this all about!  Well, you see, like many other first immigrants to this country, whenever I get a chance, I would like others to know about my humble origin; my insatiable drive to succeed; and my remarkable personal achievements despite the enormous odds against me.  If you don’t believe this, ask my two daughters who are repeatedly reminded “how life has been incredibly easy to them,” followed by “a personal story of difficulties that their father had to go through under similar circumstances.”  Their normal response to my serious commentary about their “easy” life, is “here goes Daddy!”
 
   Topic #2:  The information technology (IT) revolution and the future of higher education.  I was contemplating to address this issue primarily from the perspective of the concerns I have about the future of my own professional career.  You see, under the current law, I have at least fifteen years before becoming eligible for early retirement.  My greatest fear is then, given the extraordinary speed at which information technology is transforming classroom teaching, will I be able to continue using a blackboard and colored chalks for the next fifteen years?  To me, blackboard and chalks are not just tools any more.  More than anything else, they are my security blankets.
 
 In this context, my “fear” of the information technology revolution is simply this.  What would happen to my teaching effectiveness, if  my “old reliable teaching accessories are declared obsolete in the near future.  To me, excessive use of transparencies, slides, and computers makes teaching awkward and impersonal.  I like to see the faces of my students in a clearly lighted class-room.  That way, I can spot the students when they are sleeping!  Furthermore, at the end of my lecture, I like to see my hands fully covered with choke dust--that way, I know I was really laboring!
 
    Topic #3:  The “relevance” of economics to the average person.  Will economists ever respond to the mundane concerns of the average person, without using their favorite conditional (escape) clauses, such as, “on the other hand”, or “other things remain equal”.  Ask economists these questions:  Roughly, when should “I” expect the bull-market to end?  What stocks should “I” buy if  “I” want to earn a 50% return on my investment?  Will “I” be able to count on my social security when “I” retire fifteen years from now?  Would economists be able to answer such practical and ordinary questions without a major qualification(s) that renders their response to these questions meaningless, and without an apparent disagreement among themselves.
 
 To make a pointed remark concerning the skepticism policymakers and the general public have on advises they receive from economists, it was claimed (possibly true) that President Herry Truman sought to hire a “one-handed” economist to head his Council of Economic Advisors.  Reportedly he was fed up with economists saying, “On the one hand...., but then, on the other hand.....”  Clearly, as you can see, I have real concerns  about the public perception of the relevance of modern economics and the credibility of my fellow economists!
 
    Topic #4: Is humanity marching towards an inevitable collusion with nature?  An ecological and economic perspectives!  I entertained this topic because it would have exposed the serious side of me--the paramount economic and social issues that have been central to my scholarly endeavors for the past eighteen years.  I am a natural resource economist.  As a serious field of inquiry, the subject matter of natural resource economics deals with how a society should manage its dowry from nature now and in the future—that is, how these resources should be distributed between the present and future generations.  As a scholar in this field, there is one issue that seems to increasingly preoccupy my mind.  Is humanity managing its environment and natural resources in a socially responsible manner?  More specifically, are we managing these resources (the gifts of nature) in such a way that the interest of future generations is adequately protected.  The fact I think this way suggests that I have a serious concern about the sustainability of our current rate of utilization of these resources.  Fortunately, I am alone in expressing such a concern.  In 1987, in a report entitled “Our Common Future,” the UN Commission on Environment and Development defined sustainability this way, [the rate of resource utilization] that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”  I often wonder if humanity would ever come to recognize and appreciate the relevance of such seemingly simple ethical criterion! 
 
Finally, the moment has arrived to reveal to you the topic that I have actually chosen for today’s event.  What does it take to be an enthusiastic teacher:  A personal reflection.
 
 III.      What Does It Take To Be An Enthusiastic Teacher:  A personal     Reflection
 
     On the basis of my own experience, I can enumerate four major factors that have greatly contributed to the success in my class-room performance and to my continued enthusiasm to teaching, in general:  (1) Having a supportive, cooperative, and inspiring departmental colleagues; and working in a department with strong economic curriculum.  (2) Having an understanding, supportive and loving family.  (3) Working in an institutional environment that is most conducive to teaching.  (4) Having the opportunity to establish a life long relationship with “my” students.
 
     Let me now briefly elaborate on each one of the above factors.
 
 1.  Supportive, Cooperative and Inspiring Department Colleagues and
      a Department with Strong Economic Curriculum
 
     I joined K-College in 1985.  At this time, the faculty consists of:  Tom Breznau, Tom Taylor, Fred Strobel, and Phil Thomas.  While none of these faculty members are with us any longer, I will never forget the enthusiastic support and encouragement that they had given me in my early years at this institution.  Their strong support was also instrumental for my obtaining tenure at the college.  Right after I became tenured, June 1988, I was asked to chair the department.  My first major task as a chair of the department was to recruit a faculty for a position that Professor Hannah McKinney now occupies.  To make long story short, since my initial appointment as a chair of the department many things have changed in the department.  First, we have now an entirely new cast of faculty composed of:  Mike Athey, Hannah McKinney, Tim Moffit, Ken Reinert, and Chuck Stull.  Second, our curriculum have undergone a thorough and substantive changes.
 
     This new cast of departmental colleagues are very “special” to me.  After all, I have chaired all the search committees that recruited them.  Understandably then, their professional success means a good deal to me.
 
    I take special pride, when Hannah published her book; became a tenured member of the college; became the member of the Kalamazoo City Planning Commission, and the Chairwoman of a subcommittee for the City’s Comprehensive Development Plan.  Let me add also that it is always a heart warming experience to observe the compassion Hannah regularly displays towards her students.
    I take a special pride, when I am notified that, once again Ken Reinert has published another article; when I read students comments about Ken’s outstanding class performance; and his growing involvement in worthwhile community affairs; such as his roles as the chair of the diversity keystone and as the representative of the faculty-at-large in FEC. etc.
    I feel very “fortunate” to be associated with a colleague like Tim Moffit whose love/hate relationships with his students never stops to amaze me, and in some ways also puzzles me.  You hear his students openly complaining about how demanding his courses are of their “precious” time.  Yet, at the end of the quarter, you read a course evaluation that are filled with positive comments beyond description.  They consider him as the most inspiring teacher and consider his courses as the most relevant or practical--when compared, of course, with courses offered by a bunch of theoretical economists--the rest of us!
    Although he has not been with us for a long-time, I have been quite impressed by the tireless effort that Mike Athey is putting to make the Monroe Seminar, a big and worthwhile event at K. 
    This year we have one more faculty member who is working with us on a part-time basis--Mr. Chuck Stull.  Chuck has been with us for less than a year, and he already has a considerable student followers.  A very enthusiastic and devoted teacher!
    These are my departmental colleagues.  They respect me, and I respect them.  I am truly blessed to work with colleagues who inspire, support and push each other; and whose love for teaching is unquestionable.  We are always ready to learn from each other--we even circulate our students evaluation.
    Furthermore, because of this cooperative environment that exists among us, we have been able to create, design and implement an economic and business curriculum which is of very high quality and consistent with the overall educational philosophy of a liberal arts education. 
 
     Thus, it will be hard not to be an inspired and effective teacher given the kind of colleagues that I have and the curriculum that we have been able to design over the past seven years.
 
 2.  Understanding and loving family members:
 
    It does not matter what profession you are in, family support is an essential ingredient to one’s professional success and personal attitude.
    I am truly blessed to have a family that is loving and extremely supportive.
    Sophia and Aida have been my constant source of joy and pride.  I am yet to experience the kind of horror story I have been told to expect when they become teenagers.  I am graying, but not a single one of my gray hair can be attributed to these two kids.(They are all from my students!)  I want to specially thank them for one thing.  Like most teachers, I have the habit of carrying work at home on a rather routinely basis.  This means compromising with family time. Thank you for being so understanding.  [Sophia’s story!  work hard to get A]
 
    About my wife.  What can I say!  You see, we both came from a culture where complementing one’s own spouse publicly is sort of considered as a social taboo.  My general tendency is to say nothing or very little about my wife publicly, especially if she is with me.  In my wife’s case, consistent with her culture, her tendency is to put me down!  To-day, I am going to break a cultural taboo, and confess publicly that Fumie is not just my wife, she is my partner in everything I do.  This is the truth.  Since our marriage, I do not think there has been a single thing (family or professional matters) of significance that I have done without considerable consultation and inputs from Fumie.

3.  Institutional Environment that is Conducive to Teaching:

    Over the last seventeen years, I have been quite fortunate to be associated with two excellent teaching institutions; Allegheny and Kalamazoo Colleges.  These are two institutions that uphold educational missions that I can readily identify with, especially their unwavering commitment to teaching and to a Liberal Arts education.  In addition, because of their excellent reputations as teaching institutions, they attract students with academic quality and personal discipline that are conducive for designing and implementing innovative and challenging academic programs.  A teacher is only as good as the material (students) that she/he has to work with.  To this extent, there is no substitute for working with highly motivated and able students.

My association with these two quality educational institutions has had another positive dimension.  This has to do with the opportunity that I have had working with a group of faculty who truly consider teaching to be their first priority.

    The upshot is clear.  It is hardly difficult to sustain one’s enthusiasm to teach when working in an environment where excellence in teaching in constantly heralded by the institution, expected by students and accepted as a norm by the faculty.

4.  Life-Long Relationship with My Students:

    As a faculty, generally, we have the “bad” habit of bashing our students.  This is true even in an institution like K where we are fortunate enough to have an abundant number of hard working, well-disciplined and curious students.  However, when we complain about our students, it is primarily directed towards the current generation of students (the ill-prepared freshmen; the lackluster sophomores; the elusive juniors; and the freaked out seniors).  Fortunately, this does not seem to last forever.  A decade or so after their graduation, we start to see them differently.  Often, and unashamedly, we say to each other, you know, compared with the current generation of students, a decade or so ago, students used to be more serious, curious and engaging.  They were simply fun to teach!  How quickly we forget!  Or, how unappreciative we are of our current generation of students!

    I don’t claim to be any different from my other colleagues in this particular issue.  That is, I am also inflicted with the same habit of bashing current generation of students.  At the same time, I want to tell you this.  I am in a teaching profession for one and only one reason.  For the immeasurable satisfaction I receive from observing the personal and intellectual development of these same students.  As their teacher, I am not a passive observer of this development process, either.  

    To this end, I have no problem putting in extra hours to help students when they are struggling in my own classes; consoling them when they are feeling psychologically and emotionally down; and recommending them to potential employers or to graduate schools.  I also enjoy participating in informal gatherings with students and in more formal ceremonial events designed to celebrate their achievements of my students, such as academic honors awards, graduation and weddings. 

Furthermore, nothing gives me more pleasure than the enduring quality of my relationships with most of my students.  I truly enjoy receiving letters from my former students, and I often read them several times before putting them away for my memorabilia.  It is really true that by the virtue of teaching in an institution like Kalamazoo College, I have the pleasure of knowing that the membership of my extended family is growing every year.  To the extent that my contributions have been positive, the very prospect of being able to enlarge my circle of influence is a sufficient enough factor for me to continue being excited about my career as a teacher.  Believe me, I can keep you here forever, if you would allow me to talk about all the great accomplishments of my students.  Given that this is impractical, I would conclude my presentation tonight by briefly sharing with you just a few examples of the accomplishments of only three of my students.