Claremont McKenna College announces that Eric Helland, the William F. Podlich Professor of Economics and George R. Roberts Fellow at CMC, will be teaching in the expanded Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Program (PPE), beginning in 2016-17. PPE is a rigorously interdisciplinary program; its success at the College has led to an expansion that will begin this academic year with Philosophy, followed by Government in 2015 and Economics in 2016.
Professor Helland will play a major role in helping to plan the growth of PPE, working in tandem with current PPE faculty members Paul Hurley of Philosophy, Brock Blomberg of the Robert Day School, George Thomas of Government, and incoming Philosophy faculty member Adrienne Martin.
The range and depth of Professor Helland’s accomplishments as a teacher and scholar make him an ideal participant in PPE. A specialist in microeconomics and in the relations of law and economics, Professor Helland has published numerous articles, essays, and working papers. He received his B. A. from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and his M. A. and Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis. He has also been a visiting fellow at the Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics, a visiting professor of Law at UCLA, and a visiting faculty member at the University of Chicago School of Business. In addition to these achievements, he has had extensive research and administrative experience with the Rand Corporation, and is the editor of the International Review of Law and Economics. His service to CMC has been equally extensive, including, most recently, the role of co-director (with Professor Ken Miller) of the newly established Dreier Roundtable.
An engaging lecturer and discussion leader, Professor Helland has also excelled as a master teacher. His Econ 50 course has become one of the most sought-after courses at the College, and his omnibus advising sessions during freshman orientation are a CMC tradition. Most notably, his teaching success has been recognized by the G. David Huntoon Senior Teaching Award in 2010 and 2014.
Asked to comment on the PPE program, Professor Helland said, “PPE combines the intellectual rigor of an Oxford-style tutorial with an interdisciplinary approach to the liberal arts. It is without a doubt the most innovative program for teaching creativity of inquiry that I’ve ever encountered. I am thrilled to be joining the outstanding PPE faculty and look forward to working with PPE’s outstanding students.”