07/01/2011

Economics Professor Gary Stone Chosen as William H. Grier Professor

Quick Facts

The Grier Professorship is awarded every four years to an excellent classroom teacher who is highly imaginative, dependable and in command of his or her discipline.

Stone, who previously held the title from 2002-05, follows Jane Thomas, professor of marketing, in the endowed slot.

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Gary Stone

ROCK HILL, S.C. - Winthrop University has selected Gary Stone, professor of economics, as the William H. Grier Professor for the College of Business Administration.

The Grier Professorship is awarded every four years to an excellent classroom teacher who is highly imaginative, dependable and in command of his or her discipline. Stone, who previously held the title from 2002-05, follows Jane Thomas, professor of marketing, in the endowed slot.

Established in 1993, the designation honors the memory of William H. Grier, a long-time member and chair of the Winthrop Board of Trustees and the first male recipient of an honorary degree from the College of Business Administration.

Roger D. Weikle, dean of the College of Business Administration, said Stone is a great teacher. “Whether it be with freshmen or with graduate students, Gary Stone has the ability to connect with them personally and bring economic choices to life,” Weikle said. “He has also broadened his expertise to include economic education as a teacher of teachers around the United States and across the globe. He is a credit to this university.”

This past academic year was a stellar year for Stone as he was named winner of a national service award given jointly by the National Association of Economic Education and Council for Economic Education. Stone, who has operated Winthrop’s Center for Economic Education for 30 years, was praised for participating in or leading multiple delegations overseas for the United States Agency for International Development to train teachers overseas how to teach about market economics across the spectrum of public schools. As of 2011, his expertise has been shared in 11 countries, including Russia, Belarus, Croatia, Lithuania and Egypt.

In South Carolina, Stone worked on the committee to revise the State Department of Education’s social studies standards to include economics when that requirement was added for high school graduation in the state. He has taught many of the state’s economics teachers and infused market economics throughout students’ standard education, even to elementary school classes. Stone also has contributed to the development of Advanced Placement courses and graded national AP economics examinations for years.

At Winthrop, Stone joined the faculty in 1975, earned tenure in 1981, was promoted to associate professor in 1988 and to professor in 1994. He has received the university’s Distinguished Professor and Kinard teaching awards, the College of Business Administration’s Wachovia teaching awards and Phi Kappa Phi honors. He completed his Ph.D. in economics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

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