Robert Dewitt Tollison, 73, renowned economist in Clemson’s College of Business, died Oct. 24.
Tollison was J. Wilson Newman Professor of Economics and the BB&T Senior Fellow in the John E. Walker Department of Economics. He was one of the world’s foremost scholars in the fields of public choice and political economy.
“Bob Tollison’s passing leaves a void in the halls of Sirrine and in our lives not to be filled,” said Bobby McCormick, business school dean. “But our memories of him will endure as his inquisitive spirit, love of life, peaceful pleasantness, and smiling presence reminds us just how wonderful economics can be when lived to its fullest. RIP.”
Born in 1942, in Spartanburg, S.C., Tollison is survived by his wife, Anna, a daughter, April Kleinfeldt and her husband Rich of Clemson, and son Mark Tollison and his wife Sarah Jane of Greenville; brothers Benjamin Tollison of Alpharetta, Ga., and David Tollison of Ridgeway, Va. He is also survived by three grandchildren, Zachariah Tollison, Katie Tollison, and Annabel Kleinfeldt. In addition, he is survived by generations of students and co-authors who were enriched by his contributions to their success.
“Bob Tollison’s achievements as a researcher and educator transcended his impressive count of academic citations,” said Scott Baier, interim economics chair. “Professor Tollison will be sorely missed by the Clemson family, not only for his academic accomplishments, but for the indelible impact he had on the students and faculty he inspired over the years.”
Beyond serving at Clemson since 2003, Tollison held faculty positions at Cornell University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Tech, George Mason University, and the University of Mississippi. He was chair of the Economics Department at Texas A&M and director of the Center for the Study of Public Choice at George Mason for 14 years.
He authored or co-authored 12 books and numerous textbooks, more than 100 invited articles in edited collections, and approximately 250 peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals.
Tollison has served in government twice, in the Nixon and Reagan administrations. He was a senior staff economist on the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (1971-72) and director of the Bureau of Economics at the Federal Trade Commission (1981-83).
He was a senior editor of Public Choice (the leading journal in his field) for 17 years, and served on the editorial boards of several leading journals, including Public Choice. He also served on the Advisory Board of the Encyclopedia of Public Choice.
Funeral services will be 2 p.m., Friday, at Fort Hill Presbyterian Church, 101 Edgewood Ave., Clemson, S.C. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to Oconee County Humane Society, P.O. Box 966, West Union, S.C., 29696, or at www.oconeehumane.org/donate.php .
