Overview

The Philip Babcock Memorial Undergraduate Lecture was established at the University of California, Santa Barbara to honor the vibrant legacy of UCSB Professor Philip Babcock. The lecture seeks to expose our students and the community at large to the most intriguing applications of economics. Our speakers have been chosen to convey some of the joy Professor Babcock found in applying economics to the world.

Professor Babcock lived an extraordinary life. He joined our faculty in 2006 after obtaining his Ph.D. in Economics from UC San Diego in 2005. His areas of expertise included labor economics, time use, human capital, social dynamics, and networks. His recent scholarly publications have been cited and debated in The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN - Anderson Cooper 360, The Economist, The Boston Globe, Mother Jones, Voice of America, and other media outlets. His interests and talents were wide-ranging; in addition to his important contributions as an economist, he also founded an engineering software company, worked as a freelance writer of film and episodic television, and in 2011 published a novel, Eyes of God, which was hailed as "both a tale of suspense that chronicles the fall of a dictatorship, and an exploration of suffering, loss, love, and raw human resilience." Professor Babcock’s exuberance for life, incredible courage in the face of illness and unwavering dedication to our campus and our students was an inspiration to all who knew him.

The Babcock Lecturer is selected each year by a group of undergraduate students, who review current research and select an economist who they think will best represent Philip’s legacy.  The lecturer spends a day on campus meeting with undergrdautes and faculty and ends their day by presenting an undergraduate seminar.