McKenzie gives $1 million to University

The professor's gift will benefit graduate students

McKenzie

The Lionel and Blanche McKenzie Family Fellowship Fund will be used for fellowships to graduate students in the Department of Economics. Mrs. McKenzie, who died earlier this year, and her husband had close bonds with graduate students, especially those from Japan.

In 1957, McKenzie came to Rochester to build a doctoral program in economics, which emphasized economic theory and mathematical techniques, and a new department within the College. He is well known as the architect of the general equilibrium theory, which deals with price formation and the supply of goods and services in a competitive economy. A member of the National Academy of Sciences, McKenzie's articles and books also have helped expand an understanding of international trade and public finance.

"The magnitude of Lionel McKenzie's contribution, in his astounding gift to future generations of graduate students, is exceeded only by the depth of his scholarly contributions to human knowledge and his monumental achievements in developing the Department of Economics at the University," said Alan Stockman, chair of the economics department. "He has earned yet another dimension of our deepest gratitude."

McKenzie's influence in the field of economics is especially strong in Japan. In 1995, the Japanese government awarded him the medal of the Order of the Rising Sun for his distinguished academic and educational contributions, and last year he received an honorary doctorate from Keio University in Tokyo.

As economics department chair from 1957 to 1966, he attracted promising scholars who helped him elevate economics at Rochester to international prominence.

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