2021 Retiring Faculty

Alice Simon

James Heisler Professor of Economics; Faculty Director for The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship
(1985-2021)

Clearly, Alice Simon holds a place in Ohio Wesleyan’s pantheon of outstanding teachers. Students through the decades speak of the profound impact she has had on them as students, professionals, and most importantly, as people. This impact is a result of her hard work, clear lecture style, strict standards, and especially, her caring nature. Her Monetary and Fiscal Policy and Principles of Economics classes are among the most popular in the department and the University. Under her leadership, The Woltemade Center for Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship has grown and better serves students, the University, and the broader community.

Alice is a native New Yorker who attended Queens College, majoring in economics. She earned her M.S. in consumer economics and public policy from Cornell University and a Ph.D. in consumer economics from The Ohio State University. Early in her career, she worked for the federal government and the National Governors Association examining issues of income security and the impact of taxes on consumers. She returned to central Ohio to work at the Center for Human Resource Research at Ohio State before coming to Ohio Wesleyan in 1985.

She was quickly recognized as an excellent teacher, winning the University’s Sherwood Dodge Shankland Award for the Encouragement of Teachers. Many students benefited from the long hours she put in individually tutoring them. Students who went through her Principles class were more than ready for subsequent courses, having the ability to apply what they learned from her. Her assistance, counsel, and capacity to truly listen also resulted in her becoming an extremely popular academic advisor.

Her research has always had an applied focus. Her dissertation on the impact of convenience, familiarity, cost, and return on IRA selection won an award from the American Council on Consumer Interests. Over the years, she has published and presented work on the digital divide, the regressive nature of Ohio’s income tax, and the economic impact of the Delaware County Fair. This work carried over into her senior seminar course where students investigated an aspect of consumer behavior by formulating a model, designing and conducting a survey, and analyzing the data they gathered.

Alice arrived at Ohio Wesleyan very shortly after the Woltemade Center was formed and was an early and active participant. She became its third director in 2010 and has been instrumental in the continued success of the Economics Management Fellows Program as well as the Corns Business and Entrepreneurial Scholars, Accounting Fellows, and Latham Entrepreneurial Scholars programs. She has done more than her share of service to University, serving on the University Governance and other committees, and she was a key part of Ohio Wesleyan’s Upward Bound program.

Ohio Wesleyan is fortunate that she will be returning in the fall to teach part-time. This will afford her the opportunity to spend more time with her two sons, Keith and Jack, their wives, and her two new grandchildren. Thank you, Alice, for all you have done for generations of Ohio Wesleyan students.