College of Management Receives Gift to Fund Economics Department Endowments

March 7, 2005 - The College of Management at North Carolina State University recently announced a $500,000 planned gift commitment from James W. Owens ('68, '70, '73). Owens is chairman and chief executive officer of Caterpillar, Inc., headquartered in Peoria, Ill.

His gift will fund two endowments at the college: the Owens Faculty Enhancement Endowment, for a professor of economics in the Ph.D program, and the Owens Graduate Economic Endowment, for a doctoral student in economics at the College of Management.

Owens, who has bachelor's and master's degrees in textile technology and a doctorate in economics from NC State, joined Caterpillar in 1972 as a corporate economist. In 1975, he was named chief economist of Caterpillar Overseas S.A. in Geneva, Switzerland. He has held executive positions with the company in its component products and control systems, human services, Latin America, logistics, product support and systems and processes divisions. Caterpillar is a member company of the college’s Supply Chain Research Consortium.

NC State’s Economics Graduate Program is a joint program of the Department of Economics and Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at NC State University, offering masters and doctoral degrees in economics. Currently, 53 students are enrolled in the master’s programs, and 90 in the doctoral programs. Dr. David J. Flath is professor of economics and director of the Economics Graduate Program.

In addition to the doctoral program, the economics department offers two master's degree options: the Master of Economics, which does not require a thesis, and the Master of Arts (MA) in Economics and the Master of Science (MS) in Agricultural and Resource Economics, both of which do require a thesis.

The M.S. in Agricultural and Resource Economics emphasizes both economic theory and quantitative analysis of a broad set of agricultural and resource problems. The Master of Economics degree includes an applied economics and policy analysis option designed for those who are not interested in pursuing a Ph.D. degree. This coursework-only degree program emphasizes economic application and accommodates both full-time and part-time students.