William James Adams is the Shorey Peterson Professor in Industrial Organization and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Economics.
Professor Jim Adams was born in NYC and raised in Michigan. Jim studied at Harvard, where he earned an AB Summa Cum Laude in Economics and a Ph.D., also in Economics. He earned his Ph.D in 1973 and joined Michigan that same year. He has been on faculty here for 50 years and has been a fan favorite among students, faculty and staff alike.
He has won numerous prizes for his teaching, including the Amoco Foundation Award and the Golden Apple Award. The University of Michigan nominated him in 2007 for the U.S. Professors of the Year Award (sponsored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Learning) and then in 2008 for the Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year Award (sponsored by the Presidents Council of the State Universities of Michigan).
His research has ranged broadly, from public policies toward business in the United States to economic integration in Europe. His monograph, Restructuring the French Economy: Government and the Rise of Market Competition since World War II, is used by economists, historians, and political scientists on both sides of the Atlantic.
We are celebrating Jim's achievements and contributions to the field of Economics . If you are reading this you may have been one of our thousands of students who took classes with Professor Adams. One of those students felt compelled to set up an award in his honor, establishing the "Jim Adams Undergraduate Excellence Fund".
Donations to this fund support and promote excellence in undergraduate teaching, education and program administration. If you would like to contribute to this goal, and celebrate and appreciate Jim's dedication to education and learning here in Michigan, please donate by clicking HERE.
To see Jim Adams address our 2024 graduates and the presentation of the first Jim Adams Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, you can watch our 2024 commencement recording here.
Pictured: Jim Adams, during the ceremony marking his investiture as the first Shorey Peterson Professor in Industrial Organization. With Jim is John Sweetland, who endowed the professorship.
