On Friday, the Management and Economics building was renamed Walter W. Heller Hall after the late economist of the same name. The practice of naming buildings after prominent people associated with the University takes the edge off the bureaucratic feel of our large institution and educates members of the community about its past.
Walter Heller was an important and influential economist who served both the University and the federal government. In addition to being a University Regents’ professor, he served under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson as the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers. Heller served a 40-year tenure at the University, during which his outstanding work increased the ranking of the economics department. Heller was among the original engineers of Johnson’s “War on Poverty,” and Hubert Humphrey once labeled him as “the world’s greatest economist west of the Mississippi.”
The newly named Heller Hall will acquaint University community members with a significant person who made commendable contributions to society. Instead of simply carrying the uninteresting names of the departments housed within, the building will now pay homage to a person with many admirable qualities.