UT economics professor was world leader in field

3/12/2005

Edward Shapiro, 84, a University of Toledo professor whose macroeconomics college textbook was used worldwide, died of heart-related problems yesterday in Glen Ellyn, Ill., where he lived the last four years.

He taught at UT for 22 years, retiring in 1989. He established an economics scholarship fund to support promising students in the field.

He was a stickler for good writing, too, and established the Edward Shapiro Fund for English Composition.

Mr. Shapiro's text, Macroeconomic Analysis, "was the leader in the field around the world for 25, 30 years," said Michael Dowd, chairman of the UT department of economics.

"Because Ed was so meticulous when it came to writing, it lent itself well to translation [and] was published in several languages. He brought a lot of repute to the [UT] economics department through that book."

But he did not rest on his renown.

"He was really a remarkable teacher," said Paula Malone, a lecturer in economics at the University of Michigan who was a graduate student of Mr. Shapiro's. "He was very dedicated to his teaching and did a lot of research and excited the rest of us with his research. He expected the best of the people he worked with."

Mr. Shapiro grew up in North Toledo and was a graduate of Woodward High School. He received a bachelor's degree in economics from UT and served in the Army stateside during World War II. He received master's degrees from Ohio State University and UM and his doctorate from Harvard University.

In that era, "there was a shift in the core discipline," said Mr. Dowd, also a macroeconomist. "He had the mind and the tools to take advantage of the developments in the postwar period."

Mr. Shapiro taught at Wayne State University and the University of Detroit before UT hired him.

He routinely walked miles a day when his health allowed. He traveled Europe by Eurorail and eschewed luxury hotels, said his niece, Sheila Ganch. He visited World War II battlefields and cemeteries where U.S. soldiers are buried.

"He was very emotional at the cemeteries. He cried for those boys," his niece said.

He invented word games, wrote an economics crossword puzzle book, and attended Toledo Symphony concerts.

"He was always a teacher. He was very strong in his beliefs," his niece said. "He was never married. He was a loner. But if he did let you in, he was a wonderful person. He was my father to me in every other respect [but biological]. He gave me away at my wedding."

There are no immediate survivors.

Services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday in Beth Shalom Cemetery, Oregon. Arrangements are by the Robert H. Wick/Wisniewski Funeral Home.