Demand had begun to exceed supply.
Last year, economics classes were approaching 28 students per professor, a ratio far above the Hillsdale average of 15.
To rectify this, according to Professor of Political Economy Gary Wolfram, the economics department began a wide search for qualified professors to fill the department, a multifaceted process of winnowing down an initial group of about 100 potential candidates by examining resumes, letters of recommendation, interest in undergraduate teaching, and their fit with the college.
At this time, Christopher Martin said he was teaching economics at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. A previous job as education director at the Institute for Humane Studies had inspired him to return to academia after earning a history degree at Yale and a master’s degree in European studies at Oxford.
“It reminded me how much I loved college, thought, and ideas,” Martin said.
To this end, Martin said he enrolled in George Mason University while still working in D.C. to earn his doctorate in economics, where Assistant Professor of Economics Michael Clark also studied. Though they did not overlap, they shared thesis adviser Dan Klein, and Clark got to know Martin through their education connection.
“I knew of Chris’ character, and I thought very highly of him,” Clark said. “We studied through the same program, we attended the same conferences, and did mutual research.”
So when Martin learned of the job opening in Hillsdale’s economics department, he applied even though he had a teaching position in Oklahoma. He learned about Hillsdale through his previous career.
“Hillsdale is special,” Martin said. “At IHS, some of my best students and employees had come from here.”
Martin made it through the application process, even guest-teaching Clark’s Principles of Macroeconomics class. According to Clark, Martin’s use of an economics experiment demonstrating the problems of fiscal policy earned positive feedback from students in the class. But the similarity of Martin’s impressive resume to Clark’s actually worked against him a little bit in the hiring decision.
“On paper, he’s unreal, he’s great,” Clark said. “He’s essentially me, but better.”
Still, the department ended up offering Martin a position as assistant professor of economics, which he gladly accepted.
“So far, it’s been a great decision,” Martin said. “The students here are the best I’ve ever taught.”
This semester, Martin is teaching classes on Labor Economics and Principles of Macroeconomics, both of which accord nicely with his areas of interest in economic history, constitutional political economy, Smithian political economy, and labor economics. Despite moving away from academic studies of history, he maintains an interest in the subject.
“I got into economics partly from an analysis of the history job market, and partly because economics provides a very rational way of analyzing the world,” Martin said.
Now that he’s on campus, Martin is trying to get as involved in campus life as his wife and young toddler will allow. Already, he moderated the Praxis-Enactus Socialist Debate. He said it “turned out to be a lot of fun.”
Beyond economics, Martin enjoys hiking, running, board games, and a certain book series likely to endear him to campus.
“I know it’s cliché, but I’m going to have to say the ‘Lord of the Rings’ are my favorite books,” Martin said.
The rest of the economics department said they are happy Martin has arrived.
“Now we’ve got a stable group of faculty, and they’re all skilled and committed teaching,” Wolfram said. “They all understand and are comfortable with the mission of the college.”
Lecturer in Economics Lewis Butler agreed.
“He’s super-nice, his door is always open, and he really likes liberty. I think he’ll be a good fit here,” Butler said. “He must be valuable if he already has an office with a window.”
Thanks to Martin, class equilibrium has been restored.
