Interview with David M. Grether

Abstract

David Grether (1938–2021), professor of economics, emeritus, discusses his life and career and shares his thoughts and observations about the role and evolution of liberal arts studies at Caltech from his unique vantage point as two-time chair of Caltech’s Division of Humanities and Social Sciences (1982–1992, 2006–2007). The complex collegial and institutional relationship between Caltech’s lone liberal arts division and its five science/engineering divisions on the one hand, and between the humanists and social scientists grouped together within HSS, on the other, is a recurring theme of this retrospective. Grether recalls his upbringing in Berkeley, California, and the roots of his early interest in social and economic problems, leading to undergraduate and graduate study in economics at UC Berkeley and Stanford respectively, and to several years as assistant professor of economics at Yale. Joining Caltech’s economics faculty in 1971, he gradually shifted much of his research focus from econometrics to behavioral economics and was instrumental in establishing the new field of experimental economics at Caltech in the 1970s. He talks about his impressions of the campus and numerous colleagues during these early years, and about the atmosphere in HSS during a time of significant transition, marked by the introduction of a PhD program in social science, differences over the future direction of the division, and the contrasting personal styles and academic agendas of consecutive HSS division chairs H. Smith, R. Huttenback, and R. Noll, whom he succeeded as chair in 1982. Grether’s detailed account of his experiences as HSS chair includes his interactions with a succession of Caltech provosts (J. Roberts, R. Vogt, B. Kamb, and P. Jennings), as well as faculty recruitment, fundraising, the expansion or introduction of research programs in the history of science, Asian studies, and neuroeconomics, the controversy surrounding the 1985 closure of Caltech’s Baxter Art Gallery, and a recap of related academic, administrative, and personnel issues. The oral history concludes with an overview of Grether’s later research work, his involvement in campus faculty committees, most notably his tenure as chair of the undergraduate admissions committee, and general reflections on his Caltech career.