Released January 18, 1999
Centre College Hosts International Political Economist
DANVILLE, KY -- Stephen R. Gill, a leading figure in the field of international political economy, is teaching at Centre College this term as the college's first Humana Visiting Professor. During his stay at Centre, Gill is offering an advanced course in international relations and will deliver a major public lecture on the global political economy.
Gill's visit to Centre is funded by earnings from a new endowment, created through a gift to the college from The Humana Foundation. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Humana Inc., a healthcare corporation based in Louisville.
A prolific writer and lecturer, Gill has edited or authored seven books on the global economy and international relations in the last ten years. He also has contributed more than 50 articles to scholarly journals. He currently holds a tenured appointment as professor of political science at York University in Toronto, Ontario.
In his writing, Gill sets forth the idea that globalization has become such a dominant fact of life that no nation can pursue its own economic policies unilaterally. He cites the new Eurodollar as an example, noting that a strong European currency will increasingly offset United States' money power in a global financial system that has been based primarily on the dollar.
Gill is critical of many recent loan and economic development programs run by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund because they have failed to encourage or require democratic government processes in developing countries. He is a member of a working group on reform of the United Nations that is seeking ways to strongly link democratic processes with economic development.
Gill has also advocated economic reforms that might protect countries from the effects of volatile short term outflows of capital and encourage the link of investment flows to long-term economic development. With regard to the very poorest nations, he advocates that the governments of the richer nations forgive public debts that appear to be unrepayable. In Africa most foreign debt is owed to public institutions like the IMF and the World Bank.
A former visiting scholar the University of Tokyo and a senior associate member of St. Antony's College at Oxford University, Gill also taught at the University of California at Los Angeles, Virginia Commonwealth University and Manchester University in the United Kingdom. He has lectured throughout the world, and a number of his publications have been issued in international translations.
Gill was born and educated in England, earning a bachelor's degree at the University of London, a master's degree from the University of Essex and a doctorate from the University of Birmingham. He has been honored with a Fulbright Fellowship, a Hallsworth Senior Research Fellowship and a Fellowship of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. He serves on the editorial or review boards of a number of international journals and reviews manuscripts for a number of scholarly presses, including the Cambridge University Press, which has published three of his works.
Gill's public lecture at Centre is set for Monday, Feb. 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Weisiger Theatre of the Norton Center for the Arts. It will be open to the public at no cost.
The Humana Visiting Distinguished Professor Program will allow Centre to invite a leading scholar to campus each year to directly share in the lives of students and faculty. The college will rotate the program among various academic areas, bringing outstanding persons from fields ranging from literature to science.
The Humana Foundation provided the endowment for the visiting professor program out of a desire to encourage intellectual rigor and strong relationships between committed teachers and gifted students.
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