Remembering Dr. Gardner M. Brown Jr.
Gardner, a mentor to many, will be remembered as a beloved and respected leader in natural resource and environmental economics.
Friends and staff of Resources for the Future (RFF) are deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. Gardner M. Brown Jr., professor emeritus of the University of Washington’s Department of Economics and RFF university fellow. Gardner passed away on August 9, surrounded by friends and family.
Gardner, a mentor to many, will be remembered as a beloved and respected leader in natural resource and environmental economics. His scholarship helped shape the field into what it is today by fostering collaboration between decisionmakers, economists, and ecologists. He has been credited with elevating the importance of natural resources in the eyes of economists and was known as a pioneer in cutting-edge—and cross-cutting—research methods.
Gardner began his career in environmental economics at RFF, where he served as a summer intern under the esteemed Dr. John Krutilla in the 1950s. After graduating from the University of California-Berkeley with a PhD in 1964, he pursued a full career at the University of Washington’s Department of Economics, where he worked for almost forty years. In 2000, Gardner returned to RFF as a university fellow. While he officially retired in 2001 from his position at the University of Washington, Gardner remained active in the environmental economics community.
He had a close academic and personal connection to many RFF scholars. Gardner mentored many Ph.D. students who then mentored today's RFFers—indeed, there are few in the community whose careers have been untouched by his influence.
According to friends and colleagues, his enthusiasm for the field of natural resource and environmental economics was strong until the end. He will be missed by many and his contributions to the profession, which today seem more important than ever, will be profoundly remembered.
"Gardner was truly a pioneer in expanding the reach of economics... Best of all he made it all fun! Whether he was challenging your ideas or introducing you to new ways of looking at a problem, he always did it with consideration and that unmistakable twinkle in his eye."
—University Fellow Kerry Smith
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. Its mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. RFF is committed to being the most widely trusted source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy.
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed here are those of the individual authors and may differ from those of other RFF experts, its officers, or its directors. RFF does not take positions on specific legislative proposals.
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