Economics professor to retire, receive emeritus status

MONACA, Pa. —  After 38 years at Penn State Beaver, Rajen Mookerjee, professor of economics, will retire June 28 and will receive emeritus status.
 
Mookerjee joined Penn State in 1986 as an assistant professor of economics upon attaining his doctorate from Northeastern University. He received early tenure and promotion to associate professor and attained full professor rank subsequently.  
 
Over the years, Mookerjee taught courses in money and banking, macroeconomics and countless sections of "Introductory Microeconomics and Policy" and "Introductory Macroeconomics and Policy," which meant that almost every Penn State Beaver undergraduate student has had him as a professor since his hire.
 
Mookerjee’s students have described him as brilliant, dynamic and constantly engaging, expanding their understanding of how the world works, Chancellor Carey McDougall said. Mookerjee received the Penn State Beaver Teaching Excellence Award twice. Always available to students for advice and career guidance, former students return for further mentoring which he enthusiastically provides.
 
“I am especially humbled by the fact that many of my students chose to get their undergraduate and graduate degrees in Economics, after being exposed to economics in my classes,” Mookerjee said. “Several of my former students have attained their Ph.D. degrees and are working in academia, the private sector and the government.”
 
“Rajen’s legacy at Penn State Beaver entails outstanding instruction, impactful research and important service,” McDougall said. “I have no doubt his legacy will continue to be talked about as it already is through the stories all of us hear when we run into his many, many students. This honor makes it official that he has been and will continue to be an important part of the campus history and future accomplishments.”
 
In addition to teaching at Beaver campus, Mookerjee taught and spent two years on leave full-time teaching at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh. He also was an adjunct there for many years as a visiting professor where he received the Teacher of the Year Student Government Award five times and the Teacher of the Year Administration Award 18 times. He supervised several doctoral dissertations. In addition, he was a regular adjunct at the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh where he also received several teaching awards. 
 
Over his career Mookerjee published more than 35 articles and several research monographs that have garnered about 1,700 citations, which meant he was a sought-after referee for over 30 academic journals. Mookerjee’s early research was focused on monetary and international financial issues in rapidly emerging developing countries, with a special focus on India and China. Later research explored the dynamics of the relationship between government spending and taxation. More recently his research explored issues of child labor, global poverty and the effects of religion and gender on the level of happiness within countries, as well as the importance of the nonprofit sector. His research output was greatly facilitated by six sabbaticals that included visiting positions at the National University of Singapore, John’s Hopkins University and the Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh.
 
He was also awarded state funded grants, totaling approximately $100,000 to study affordable housing and mental health needs in rural Pennsylvania.  
 
At the Beaver campus, Mookerjee was active in providing service to the campus and the university, chairing various committees, including important tenure and promotion committees. He was elected to serve on the University Faculty Senate for over 25 years, for which he was engaged in multiple committees, ardently advocating for the well-being of the campuses and the university.  
 
In retirement he plans to remain active completing on-going research and initiating new research. He would especially welcome hearing from former students. He can be reached at rxm24@psu.edu.