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Two international achievement awards to be presented Feb. 10
Melissa Mitchell, arts writer; 333-5491; melissa@illinois.edu
2/3/2003
CHAMPAIGN,
Ill. — A world leader and a leading expert on Latin America economics
are the recipients of international achievement awards presented by
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Atef
Ebeid, the prime minister of Egypt, received the 2002 Madhuri and Jagdish
N. Sheth International Alumni Award for Exceptional Achievement during
a ceremony held in January in Cairo.
The 2002 Distinguished Faculty Award for International Achievement will
be presented to Werner Baer, the Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor of Economics at Illinois, during a banquet at the Urbana campus on Feb. 10.
Both awards are sponsored by the Office of the Chancellor, Office
of the Provost, University of Illinois Alumni
Association and International
Programs and Studies. This is the second year of the awards program.
Ebeid (pronounced ah-BADE), who is credited with leading Egypt’s
efforts to shift to a more market-based economy, received his doctorate
in business administration from Illinois in 1962. After graduating from Illinois, Ebeid returned
to Egypt, where he joined the faculty of Cairo University’s department
of management and worked as a management consultant to various ministries
within the Egyptian government. In 1973, he formed the International
Management Center, a consulting firm that helped restructure failing
construction firms. He was president of that company until he entered
government service in 1984. He served as state minister for administrative
development from 1984-1993, and minister of private enterprises from
1993-1999. He was appointed prime minister by Egyptian President Hosni
Mubarak in 1999.
As prime minister, Ebeid has continued his efforts to liberalize the
economy, increase economic growth, foster trade links with the European
Union and the United States, streamline government and initiate social
reforms.
"Dr. Ebeid is well known in the Middle East for his intellect,
business acumen and managerial skill, as well as for his honesty and
integrity," said Earl Kellogg, associate provost for international
affairs at Illinois. Kellogg was part of a delegation from the university
that traveled to Cairo to present the award to the prime minister.
Although Ebeid’s career is marked by many accomplishments, Kellogg
said he told the visitors that he recalled his time at Illinois as "the
five best and most productive years of my life."
"Dr. Ebeid told me he owes much of his career to the education
he received at Illinois," Kellogg said. "He also mentioned
a management professor at Illinois who mentored him and taught him many
things about how to manage. He genuinely loves the University of Illinois."
Baer, who taught at Harvard, Yale and Vanderbilt universities before
coming to Illinois in 1974, is regarded as one of the world’s
leading experts in the economic development problems that have plagued
a number of South American nations, most notably, Brazil.
The professor, who received his bachelor’s degree in economics
from Queens College and his master’s and doctoral degrees from
Harvard, has written and edited numerous books and scholarly articles
on economic conditions in Latin America. His reputation as a leading
scholar of economic development was forged with the publication of his
book "Industrialization and Economic Development in Brazil."
Another book, "The Brazilian Economy: Growth and Development,"
is now in its fifth edition, and is one of the most widely used books
on economics of a Latin American country.
Baer has made major contributions to the study of import substitution
industrialization, the Latin American inflationary process and various
stabilization programs, the role of state in economic development, and
the impact of privatization.
Baer also is known as a dedicated teacher and mentor, and his efforts
to recruit outstanding Latin American students to Illinois have yielded
graduates who now teach in some of the region’s most prestigious
universities and work in key positions for the International Monetary
Fund, the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. He also
co-founded the economics department’s master of science program
in policy economics, designed for young policy-makers from developing
countries.
Baer has received a number of awards for his contributions to research
on the Brazilian economy and to its academic institutions, including
honorary doctorates from universities in Brazil and Portugal. He also
is the recipient of the Southern Cross Medal, the highest honor conferred
by the Brazilian government to a non-Brazilian, and the Rio Branco Medal,
awarded by Brazil’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.
