Anita Arrow Summers (born September 9, 1925) is an American educator of public policy, management, real estate and education and is Professor Emerita at the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
.
Biography
Anita Arrow was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
on September 9, 1925. The daughter of Jewish immigrants from
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
, Summers received a B.A. in Economics from
Hunter College in 1945
and an M.A. from the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...
in 1947. She earned a doctorate from
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
She married
Robert Summers
Robert Summers (June 22, 1922 – April 17, 2012) was an American economist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught from 1960. A widely cited early work by Summers is on the small-sample statistical properties of alternate ...
in 1953
and left the workforce to raise three sons.
In 1967, she began teaching economics at
Swarthmore College.
She led the urban economic department at the
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia — also known as the Philadelphia Fed or the Philly Fed — headquartered at 10 Independence Mall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is responsible for the Third District of the Federal Reserve, which covers ...
from 1971-1979, when she joined the
Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...
to start the first public policy department in a business school.
She chaired that department from 1983-1988. She was a member of Provost's Academic Planning and Budget Committee from 1984–1990, in addition to many other University activities. She was Ombudsman of the
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...
from 2001-2003.
Summers has been a recipient of the Excellence in Teaching Awards at Wharton several times. While technically retired, her expertise is sought as she is considered a leading authority on urban
economic development
In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...
and finance and educational efficiency. She was a member of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Audit Committee of Meridian Bancorp from 1987 to 1996. She was Chair of the Board of Directors of Mathematica Policy Research from 1993-2010.
Currently, she is on that Board, on the Board of Trustees of Waverly Heights, Inc. and President of the Penn Association of Senior and Emeritus Professors of the University of Pennsylvania.
Summers is also a senior research fellow at Wharton's Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center. Summers has authored and edited many books and reports. She comes from a family of well-known economists, including husband
Robert Summers
Robert Summers (June 22, 1922 – April 17, 2012) was an American economist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania, where he taught from 1960. A widely cited early work by Summers is on the small-sample statistical properties of alternate ...
, son
Lawrence Summers
Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as the 71st United States secretary of the treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as pres ...
, brother
Kenneth Arrow
Kenneth Joseph Arrow (23 August 1921 – 21 February 2017) was an American economist, mathematician, writer, and political theorist. He was the joint winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with John Hicks in 1972.
In economics ...
, and brother-in-law
Paul Samuelson
Paul Anthony Samuelson (May 15, 1915 – December 13, 2009) was an American economist who was the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. When awarding the prize in 1970, the Swedish Royal Academies stated that he " ...
.
Publications
*"Manual on procedure for using census data to estimate block income (Research papers - Dept. of Research, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)" 1975
*"Do schools make a difference? (Reprint series - Institute for Research on Poverty, University of Wisconsin)" 1977
*"Improving the use of empirical research as a policy tool: An application to education (Research paper - Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia)" 1979
*"What helps fourth grade students read?: A pupil-, classroom-, program-specific investigation (Research paper)" 1979
*"Urban Change in the United States and Western Europe: Comparative Analysis and Policy" 1993
*
*
References
External links
"Ombudsman: Anita Summers" ''Almanac'', University of Pennsylvania, Vol. 48, No. 2, September 4, 2001
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Summers, Anita
1925 births
Living people
20th-century American economists
20th-century American women
21st-century American economists
21st-century American women
American people of Romanian-Jewish descent
American women economists
Columbia University alumni
Hunter College alumni
University of Chicago alumni
University of Pennsylvania faculty
Yale University faculty