Samuel Z. Westerfield
The Samuel Z. Westerfield Award was established by the National Economic Association in 1973 when it was awarded posthumously to American Ambassador to Liberia, Samuel Zazu Westerfield, Jr – an outstanding teacher and university administrator, a dedicated official in government service, a talented international diplomat, and a successful and avid builder of institutions dedicated to economic development and the appreciation of the Black experience.
The award is intended to recognize Black economists whose professional activities demonstrate a superlative contribution to the goals of the National Economic Association: To promote the training of Black economists; to encourage the dissemination of information and ideas concerning the economics of the Black experience in the United States and abroad; and to promote the recognition and understanding of alternative perspectives on the Black economic experience. Accordingly, the Westerfield Award recognizes contributions in scholarship, university teaching and community service, and institution building. It is not bestowed annually, but only when an economist’s work and contribution to these goals are clearly marked by singular distinction consistent with the highest standards of excellence.
2021 Samuel Z. Westerfield Award Recipient
Dr. James B. Stewart
James B. Stewart is currently a Senior Fellow at the Institute on Race, Power and Political Economy at the New School, and inaugural Director of the Black Economic Research Center for the 21st Century. He holds advanced degrees in Economics (Cleveland State, M.A.; Notre Dame, Ph.D), and an undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Rose Hulman Institute of Technology. Stewart spent the majority of his professional career at Penn State University (PSU), after assuming a faculty position in the Economics department and the Directorship of the Black Studies program in 1980. Previously he was employed at the University of Notre Dame as an Assistant Professor of Economics and Director of the Black Studies program. After leaving PSU’s Economics Department he held faculty appointments in Labor and Employment Relations, African American Studies, Management and Organization. Stewart retired from PSU in 2009 with the rank of Professor Emeritus after a tenure of 29 years.
NEA Samuel Z. Westerfield Luncheon 2023
On January 7, 2023, the National Economic Association will present the Samuel Z. Westerfield Award to Dr. James Stewart, Professor Emeritus of Labor and Employment Relations, African and African American Studies, and Management and Organization, Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Stewart is a past President of NEA and served as Editor of the Review of Black Political Economy (the journal of the NEA) from 1989 to 1995. In 2022 Dr. Stewart was appointed as inaugural Director of the Black Economic Research Center for the 21st Century.
The luncheon is being held in conjunction with the Allied Social Science Associations (ASSA) meetings in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Previous Samuel Z. Westerfield Award Recipients
Samuel Z. Westerfield, Jr. 1973
W. Arthur Lewis 1975
Marcus Alexis 1979
Phyllis A. Wallace 1981
Clifton R. Wharton, Jr. 1985
Andrew F. Brimmer 1990
Samuel L. Myers, Sr. 1995
Bernard E. Anderson 2003
David A. Swinton 2006
Margaret C. Simms 2008
William A. Darity, Jr. 2012
Samuel L. Myers, Jr. 2015
Cecilia A. Conrad 2018