Ronald Braeutigam, associate provost for undergraduate education, to step down

Following 12 years of service as associate provost for undergraduate education, Ronald Braeutigam will step down from that position on Aug. 31, 2018. He has been a member of the faculty in the department of economics since 1975.

As associate provost, Braeutigam is known for bringing together people and units from across the University, enabling him to improve students’ academic experience. He has collaborated with the deans to coordinate advising activities, academic policies and interdisciplinary opportunities across the undergraduate schools. In association with the vice president for student affairs, Braeutigam has helped link the curricular and co-curricular lives of students through Northwestern's residential system and increased support for students coming from under-resourced backgrounds. He has partnered with the vice president of information technology to coordinate planning for the use of educational technologies to enhance learning and teaching. Braeutigam also has worked closely with the Associated Student Government to address student priorities and to ensure student representation on a number of key University committees.

“It has been a wonderful privilege to work with so many talented colleagues across campus, all guided by a common goal: How can we make the learning experience better?” Braeutigam said. “I’ve learned much about the student perspective from many people, among them my own daughter, Julie, who was an undergraduate at Northwestern. It’s easy to be excited about helping students when you think of them as though they were members of your own family.”

During his tenure as associate provost, Braeutigam’s efforts to enhance campus-wide support for learning have led to increased resources for the Searle Center for Advancing Learning and Teaching, as well as the establishment of the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Center for Civic Engagement and the Center for Leadership. He integrated three study abroad units into the recently inaugurated Undergraduate Learning Abroad office, and he helped create the Office of Global Safety and Security to support the health, safety and security of students, faculty and staff traveling abroad. He also has enabled the International Office to increase support for the 7,000 international students, scholars, staff and dependents who come to Northwestern from more than 100 countries.

“Ron Braeutigam has provided extraordinary service to the provost’s office and to the entire University,” said Provost Jonathan Holloway. “I appreciate very much his dedication to undergraduate education, his deep understanding of Northwestern and his tireless efforts to improve our academic offerings. He has had a remarkable career both as a professor and administrator, and I know we all wish him well.”

Braeutigam's previous University service includes terms as associate dean for undergraduate studies and advising in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (2004-2006) and director of Weinberg College’s Business Institutions Program (1995-2004).

As Kapnick Professor of Business Institutions in the economics department, Braeutigam specializes in microeconomics, industrial organization and public policy. He received his bachelor of science in petroleum engineering from the University of Tulsa. At Stanford University he earned an M.Sc. and a Ph.D. minor in engineering-economic systems, as well as his Ph.D. in economics.

Braeutigam also has taught at Stanford University and the California Institute of Technology, and he has held an appointment as a senior research fellow at the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin (Science Center Berlin). He is past president of the European Association for Research in Industrial Economics. Braeutigam has published many research papers and three books, including one of the leading textbooks in intermediate microeconomic theory, coauthored with David Besanko in the Kellogg School of Management. In 1997, he was named a Charles Deering McCormick Professor of Teaching Excellence, Northwestern’s highest award for distinguished undergraduate teaching.

Following a year on leave, Braeutigam will return to the department of economics as the Harvey Kapnick Professor Emeritus in September 2019. Braeutigam and his wife, Jan, plan to remain in Evanston and look forward to continuing as active members of the Northwestern community.