University Archives Faculty and Administrators Murray Weidenbaum Papers (W... Finding AidTitle: Murray Weidenbaum Papers (WUA00117), 1955-2006
Predominant Dates:1980-2000
ID: WUA/03/wua00117
Primary Creator: Weidenbaum, Murray
Extent: 12.5 Linear Feet
Languages: English
The collection documents Murray Weidenbaum’s involvement at Washington University; his work with several companies, commissions, committees, and organizations; and his work under several U.S. Presidents.
The collection is organized into ten series as detailed below:
Series 01: Personal Data (arranged alphabetically by subject, then chronologically) Includes articles about and by Weidenbaum, awards, biographical data, correspondence, organizational involvement, and photographs.
Series 02: Washington University Professorship (arranged by class number and subject, then chronologically) Includes Weidenbaum’s course outlines, exams, and assignments for students.
Series 03: Washington University Scrapbooks (arranged chronologically by year and month, within each month the items are generally arranged in reverse chronological order by day) This material documents Weidenbaum’s work at Washington University. Includes newspaper, newsletter, journal and magazine articles; radio broadcasts and press releases; committee pamphlets; and conference, speech, and event programs.
Series 04: Washington University, Center for the Study of American Business, Scrapbooks (arranged chronologically by year and month, within each month the items are generally arranged in reverse chronological order by day except for the “Media Use of Center Research” folders which have items arranged in ascending chronological order) This material was kept by the Center for the Study of American Business and documents the work of Weidenbaum and the Center. Includes newspaper and magazine clippings and newsletters; annual reviews, special reports and reports on studies; and letters to “special friends of the Center for the Study of American Business.”
Series 05: Presidential Economics (arranged chronologically by administration, then alphabetically by subject, then chronologically within each subject) Documents activities by Weidenbaum as part of four presidential administrations. Includes articles from journals, newspapers, and magazines; news releases, correspondence, and reports; general memorandum; and photographs.
Series 06: Reagan Administration Scrapbooks (Washington, D. C.) (arranged chronologically by year and month, within each month the items are generally arranged in chronological order by day) This material was kept by Weidenbaum’s secretary at the White House and documents his work while he served in the Reagan administration. Includes newspaper and magazine clippings.
Series 07: Commissions, Committees, Organizations (arranged alphabetically by name of commission, committee, or organization; then alphabetically by subject; then chronologically within subject) Documents Weidenbaum’s work for non-profit entities, government bodies, and corporations. Includes the U.S. Trade Deficit Review Commission Briefing and Public Hearing transcripts.
Series 08: Company Boards Involvement (arranged alphabetically by name of company board, then alphabetically by subject, then chronologically within subject) Documents his involvement with various company boards such as Beatrice Company, May Department Stores, Contel, Medicine Shoppe, and Tesoro Petroleum. Includes articles, news releases, annual reports, and correspondence; stockholders’ annual meeting notes and meeting minutes.
Series 09: Publications by Weidenbaum (articles arranged by type of article, then chronologically; pre-publication material arranged chronologically by publication date, then by subject, then chronologically within subject; monograph and books arranged alphabetically by book title) Includes articles from journals and newspapers by Weidenbaum, reports and articles by Weidenbaum and the Center for the Study of American Business; pre-publication material for books written by Weidenbaum, including drafts, reviews, and correspondence with publishers; and copies of some of Weidenbaum’s monographs and books. Series 10: Publicity (arranged chronologically by year, then alphabetically by subject, then chronologically within each folder) Includes articles about and by Weidenbaum from journals, magazines, and newspapers; awards; correspondence; news releases; remarks by Weidenbaum; and reports.
The collection does not include any correspondence with U.S. Presidents or any personal papers. For more information about Weidenbaum’s time as the chairman of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers (1981 – 1982), please see Weidenbaum’s memoir: Advising Reagan: Making Economic Policy, 1981-82: A Memoir St. Louis: Washington University in St. Louis, Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy, 2005 (a copy is available in Series 09).
For publications by Weidenbaum, please see the Washington University Library catalog.
There are additional materials related to this collection. See the "Related Materials" note for more information.
Murray Weidenbaum was born on February 10, 1927. Weidenbaum holds various degrees including the following, B.B.A from City College of New York (1948), M.A. from Columbia University (1949), Ph.D. from Princeton University (1958), and honorary LL.D.s from Baruch College (1981), University of Evansville (1983), and McKendree College (1993).
Murray Weidenbaum’s economic career began in 1948 at the New York State Department of Labor as a junior economist (1948 – 1949). Since that time he worked as an economist for the U.S. Bureau of the Budget (1949 – 1957), the corporate economist at The Boeing Company (1958 – 1963), and a senior economist at the Stanford Research Institute (1963 –1964).
In 1964 Professor Weidenbaum joined the faculty at Washington University, and as of 2006 serves as Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professor. From 1966 – 1969 he also served as chair of the Economics Department. In 1975 he founded the Center for the Study of American Business (CSAB), serving as director for most of 1975 to 2000. Upon retiring from the directorship at the end of 2000, Dr. Weidenbaum became Honorary Chair of the renamed Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.
Weidenbaum’s professional experience has been recognized with many awards and honors, including: The Founder’s Day Medal, from Washington University; the Distinguished Writers Award, from the Center for Strategic and International Studies; the Alexander Hamilton Award, for distinguished leadership in the Department of Treasury; the Adam Smith Award from the Association of Private Enterprise Education; and membership in the Missouri Academy of Squires. He is a fellow of the National Association of Business Economists, Honorary Fellow of the Association for Technical Communication, and a past president of the Midwest Economic Association.
Weidenbaum served in various capacities under the Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W. Bush presidential administrations. Under President Nixon, Dr. Weidenbaum served as the first Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy (1969 – 1971). Weidenbaum served as chairman of President Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) from January 1981 to August 1982. Also during the Reagan administration, Weidenbaum served as a member of the President’s Economic Policy Advisory Board (1982 – 1989). During the administration of George H. W. Bush, he served as a member of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (1991 – 1994). Also during the Bush administration, he served as a member of the Presidential Mission to Poland in 1989.
Weidenbaum was also involved in Congressional Committees. In 1995 he was appointed to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, Revenue Estimating Advisory Board (1995 – 1998). During 1999 – 2000, he chaired the congressionally-appointed Trade Report Review Commission. He has presented over 60 statements and testimony to Congressional Committees, on topics ranging from the “Economic Effect of Vietnam Spending” (1967) to “Replacing the Federal Income Tax” (1995). Please see the Washington University Library Catalog for relevant government documents.
Since 1979, Weidenbaum has served on the board of several large U.S. companies, including the May Department Stores (1979 – 1999) and Tesoro Petroleum (1992 – 2002). He also was a member of advisory boards of Mattel and Monsanto.
Author and co-author of several hundred articles, numerous monographs, and nine books in multiple editions, Weidenbaum is one of America’s most widely quoted economists. His articles have appeared in publications ranging from The American Economic Review to The Wall Street Journal. In 2005, Dr. Weidenbaum published the monograph, Advising Regan: Making Economic Policy 1981-1982 (Washington University in St. Louis: Weidenbaum Center). His books include Business and Government in the Global Marketplace (7th edition 2004, Prentice-Hall) and Small Wars, Big Defense (1992, Oxford UP) which was selected as the Outstanding Economic Book of the Year by the American Publishers Association Advisory Panel.
For further biographical information see the web site for The Weidenbaum Center at Washington University in St. Louis and his vita located within the collection in Series 01, Biographical Data.
Repository: WUA University Archives
Accruals: Accruals are interfiled.
Access Restrictions: Open
Use Restrictions:
Users of the collection must read and agree to abide by the rules and procedures set forth in the Materials Use Policies.
Providing access to materials does not constitute permission to publish or otherwise authorize use. All publication not covered by fair use or other exceptions is restricted to those who have permission of the copyright holder, which may or may not be Washington University.
If you wish to publish or license Special Collections materials, please contact Special Collections to inquire about copyright status at (314) 935-5495 or spec@wumail.wustl.edu. (Publish means quotation in whole or in part in seminar or term papers, theses or dissertations, journal articles, monographs, books, digital forms, photographs, images, dramatic presentations, transcriptions, or any other form prepared for a limited or general public.)
Acquisition Method: This material was donated to the University Archives by Murray Weidenbaum in May and June 2006. Additional materials transferred from the University of Wyoming in June 2008.
Related Materials:
Publications - Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy (WU Archives)
Many of Murray Weidenbaum’s publications by the Center for the Study of American Business (CSAB) (now the Weidenbaum Center) at Washington University in St. Louis are available online in Washington University’s Open Scholarship http://openscholarship.wustl.edu/mlw_papers/.
Preferred Citation: [Item description]. From the [collection title, series, box, folder]. University Archives, Washington University in St. Louis.
Processing Information: Processed by Sonya McDonald, Sarah Pabarcus, and Miranda Rectenwald in August 2006. Updated by Christian Frommelt in Summer 2009.
Finding Aid Revision History: This finding aid was entered into Archon by Hannah Barg in June 2012.
