Robert Kuenne in 1997
Photo: Denise Applewhite
Web Stories
Economist, professor emeritus Robert Kuenne dies at 81
Posted November 8, 2005; 06:51 a.m.
Robert Kuenne, a noted economist, author and professor who taught at
Princeton University for 41 years, died of Lou Gehrig's Disease
Saturday, Nov. 5, at his home in Princeton. He was 81.
Kuenne
became a member of the Princeton faculty in 1956 and transferred to
emeritus status in 1997. He taught microeconomic theory in the
undergraduate program and general equilibrium theory at the graduate
level, and also wrote more than a dozen distinguished works in areas of
economic and military strategy. He was known for designing and teaching
for 30 years a course titled "Analyses of Capitalism," which used works
of fiction, social criticism, social philosophy and economics to
examine attacks against and defenses of capitalism.
Also while
at Princeton, Kuenne directed the General Economic Systems Project,
which engaged in large-scale modeling research and published
investigations on topics including hospital costs and the Organization
of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel.
Kuenne's colleagues in Princeton's economics department said he will be missed.
"It is considered a cliché to say that someone is 'a gentleman and a scholar,'" said Alan Blinder, Princeton's Gordon S. Rentschler Memorial Professor of Economics, "but somehow the cliché fit Bob Kuenne perfectly."
Before joining the Princeton
faculty, Kuenne taught at Harvard University from 1953 to 1955 and the
University of Virginia from 1955 to 1956. He earned undergraduate
degrees in journalism from the University of Missouri and in economics
from Washington University, where he also earned a master's degree. He
received his Ph.D. in economics from Harvard.
Kuenne also had a
long career of distinguished military service, having worked for more
than 20 years as a consultant to the Institute for Defense Analyses, a
think tank for the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff for national security
policy.
A veteran of World War II, Kuenne was awarded campaign
stars for the battles of Normandy, Northern France and Central Europe.
He lectured for 16 years at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island
and was a visiting professor for 22 years at the U.S. Army War College
in Pennsylvania.
Kuenne is survived by his wife, Janet; son
Christopher of Princeton; daughter Carolyn of Washington, D.C.; and six
grandchildren.
In honor of Kuenne's memory, the University flag
will fly at half-staff Tuesday through Friday, Nov. 8-11. There will be
a funeral service at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, at Trinity Church in
Princeton, followed by a reception at Prospect House on campus. The
burial will be private.
Individuals wishing to make
contributions in his memory are being asked to donate to the Olivia
Rainbow Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation.