The George Mason University community knows Steven Pearlstein can craft an encapsulating story with written words. On Friday, May 6, Pearlstein showcased his ability to deliver an engaging speech as well, leaving the college community excited for his upcoming fall class, GOVT 319: Money, Markets, and Economic Policy.
Pearlstein, who will join Mason’s faculty in the fall as the Clarence J. Robinson Professor of Public and International Affairs, is a respected Washington Post columnist and a 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner.
He will continue both his weekly column and his oversight of the Post leadership page, On Leadership, throughout his academic assignment at the university.
At his talk, Pearlstein told the audience that he liked Mason’s willingness to let a journalist explain the role of economics in everyday life. In joining the Robinson Professors, he said, he found scholars whose goals were similar to his and had expertise in authoring works that translated academic subjects easily into the realm of the public.
Jack Censer, dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, said Pearlstein is a strong lecturer who will be an asset in the classroom.
“Pearlstein is engaging and extremely clear,” Censer said. “His lectures have strong, easily understandable points with lots of good examples. Taking notes on these would be both simple and highly educational.”
Experience and education are not the only things that Pearlstein will bring to the Department of Public and International Affairs. According to Censer, the new professor has a highly amusing sense of humor.
“His after-dinner speech showed that he also has humor and wit,” Censer said. “He can really laugh at himself. I’m sure he’ll be a lot of fun as a professor.”
Pearlstein, who has spent 22 years at the Washington Post, won the Pulitzer Prize for his work covering the recent financial crises.
In his GOVT 319 course this fall, Pearlstein will teach basic economic concepts and explore how markets function. He plans to cover a variety of topics, including economic growth, taxes, health care, globalization, income distribution and financial crises.