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John List Appointed To Philanthropy Chair At IU
john list

Economist John A. List was selected as the Visiting Robert F. Hartsook Chair in Fundraising at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in Indianapolis, Ind.

A world leader in experimental economics, List will provide expertise that will expand the school’s ability to connect its activities with other groups of scholars and practitioners, such as the Science of Philanthropy Initiative. List will serve as the visiting chair for three academic years, through June 2019.

The Kenneth Griffin Distinguished Service Professor of Economics and Chairman of the Department of Economics at the University of Chicago, List directs the Science of Philanthropy Initiative, which seeks to connect academics with philanthropy in the marketplace. The initiative investigates the motivations behind charitable giving and social preferences that shape it. The goal is to transfer that knowledge to practitioners and policymakers interested in philanthropy.

List is a pioneer in scientific methods used for testing economic theory directly in the marketplace. He has been heavily involved in conducting and promoting the use of field experiments throughout his career.

“We are thrilled to have John List in this distinguished role at the school as we join forces to better understand philanthropy and implement measures that make a definitive difference,” said Amir Pasic, Ph.D., the Eugene R. Tempel Dean of the school. “I know our faculty and students join me in congratulating and welcoming him.”

List has twice been included on The NonProfit Times “Power & Influence Top 50” list of the most influential nonprofit sector leaders. In August 2015, the publication recognized him for “running field experiments to explore economic questions and behavioral principles for philanthropy. The process is very early but has the potential to be some of the sector’s most important academic work.”

As part of List’s contributions as visiting Hartsook Chair, he and the school will co-host the Science of Philanthropy annual conference alternately in Indianapolis and Chicago. He also will be a presenter in January 2017 at The Fund Raising School’s Leadership Roundtable in Miami, Fla., which convenes experienced, nonprofit professionals to discuss innovations in charitable giving and donor behavior.

“John List’s leadership in applied fundraising research from his University of Chicago role has propelled him into worldwide recognition,” said Robert F. Hartsook, J.D., Ed.D., Chairman and CEO of Hartsook Companies. “For Indiana to attract this talented professor and his network has created high expectations for the impact of the Hartsook Chair and the school in growing philanthropy.”

Prior to joining the faculty at the University of Chicago, List taught at the University of Central Florida, the University of Arizona and the University of Maryland. He was also a senior economist for the President’s Council of Economic Advisers: Environmental and Resource Economics and Empirical Economics from 2002 to 2004.

List currently serves as a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), a position he has held since 2005, an IZA (Institute for the Study of Labor) Research fellow, a Resources for the Future (RFF) University fellow and an extramural fellow in the Department of Economics at Tilburg University in The Netherlands.

The co-author of nearly 200 studies in peer-reviewed journals including Harvard Business Review and Oxford Review of Economic Policy, List is also author of several books, including “The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics Behind Everyday Life,” which has been lauded for its research-based findings in behavioral economics. He is editor of Management Science and Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, and associate editor of the Journal of Regional Science. He serves on editorial boards of several other journals.