Robert L. Darcy Papers
SC-76
Darcy, Robert L. 1928-
18 Boxes (8 linear feet)
1957-1997 (bulk:)
Introduction
The collection document’s Darcy’s professional work as an economist, educator and consultant from the 1950s to 1980s.
Provenance: The papers of Robert L. Darcy were given to the Wheaton College Special Collections in a single, personal donation in 1997.
Restrictions: Access to material related to the United States - Saudi Arabian Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation series requires prior permission. Duplication of other materials may be restricted if copying could cause damage to items. Duplication may be restricted if copying could cause damage to items.
Collection Description
The collection occupies five linear feet, and documents Darcy’s professional work as an economist, educator and consultant from 1950s to 1980s.
The Biographical series pertains primarily to Darcy’s professional life. It contains commendations, curriculum vitae, and photographs. Notes for public appearances as well as working manuscripts are included in the Manuscript series. The Publications series includes not just published material, but also other works such as papers and completed documents that were included by Darcy in this group of material. The publications have been ordered alphabetically. Several other published documents can be found in the Subject File under Social Values, and other completed documents by Darcy can be found throughout the Organizations series. The Organizations series includes files from Darcy’s work with various organizations. The largest sections come from his work in economic education at Ohio University and Colorado State University plus evaluation research in vocational education at Ohio State University. Each group of papers retains its original internal order, but the groups have been arranged roughly chronologically. The Subject File contains Education material authored and used by Darcy. Also included is a file of secondary material collected under “History of Economic Education,” and a file of primary material on “Social Values and Value Analysis.” The transparencies in the collection include material used by Darcy in teaching economics as well as material for several presentations. Other media include a film “Exploring Basic Economics” written and narrated by Darcy as well as a videotape that accompanies Manpower and Economic Education.
Biographical/Historical Sketch
Robert Leland Darcy was born May 21, 1928 in Chicago (Cook County) Illinois, the youngest son of Robert Michael Darcy and Mabel Marcum Darcy. He received his elementary and high school education in the western suburbs (Haley School in Stickney and J. Sterling Morton High School, Cicero) and attended Morton Junior College for one year before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1946. He served 12 months as a paratrooper in Japan, rising to the rank of sergeant. He returned to earn his B.A. in economics at Knox College in 1950 and began graduate study at Indiana University before being called for Army service as a 1st Lieutenant in Japan and Korea.
After 21 months of Korean War service, he returned to Bloomington, Indiana, to complete his studies and sreceived his M.A. in economics from Indiana University in 1953. he then relocated to Denver, Colorado to further pursue his academic career. He obtained a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Colorado (Boulder) in 1957. Upon completion of his Ph.D. program, Dr. Darcy was appointed assistant professor of economics at Oregon State College (Corvallis) where he taught public finance, economic theory, introductory economics, and other courses for three years (1957-1960). Responding to the law of comparative advantage, the Darcy family moved to Kansas State University (associate professor, (1960-1961) and then Ohio University, Athens (1961-1968, tenured associate professor of economics) where he. also served as executive director of the Ohio Council on Economic Education. In 1968, Dr. Darcy was appointed full professor of economics at Colorado State University (Fort Collins) directing doctoral students and earning permanent tenure.
After receiving his doctorate in 1957, Darcy combined his career-long passion for teaching with a busy schedule of writing and editing, summer workshops, research, consulting and speaking, community service, and family travel (ocean to ocean with mountain trails, forest campgrounds, lake cottages in between). Beginning in the 1970s, economic missions took him to El Salvador, Guatemala, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the People's Republic of China. Extensive personal travel included the beautiful countries of Ireland, New Zealand, Switzerland, Scotland. In 1968 he published Manpower and Economic Education along with Phillip E. Powell (definitive edition 1973). Darcy then moved to Colorado State University as professor of economics and later established the Center for Economic Education, remaining until 1975. In 1986, after economic development assignments in the Middle East and directing research as well as teaching at Ohio State University, he published The Economic Process: A Structured Approach.
In 1975 he accepted an economic development position with the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Saudi Arabia, 1975-1976), later returning to Washington, D.C. doing manpower research for the U.S. Department of Labor. In 1977 he was appointed senior research specialist at the National Center for Research in Vocational Education, Ohio State University (Columbus), also teaching economics at OSU's regional campus in Newark and Capital University (Columbus). He was an independent economist in Ohio until moving to Santa Fe, New Mexico in the 1990s.
According to Darcy, “the thread that runs through my career as a professional economist is conscientious effort to apply Gospel ethics consistently and universally in all my teaching, research, service, and writing (see, e.g., my 1986 book “The Economic Process”). This reflects a deep respect for the human dignity of all persons and belief in a capacity for genuine improvement on the part of individuals and social institutions. The special fields of economics absorbing much of my energy have been manpower, economic education, public policy, economic development, and social values.” Subsequent to 1997 Darcy added published and unpublished papers on value issues beyond economics, addressing moral ethics in contemporary society. His 2002 paper on Schweitzer, Jung, and Veblen notes the wisdom of people "whose values and institutions nurture the best of human nature rather than celebrating the worst."
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