Thomas W. Gilligan is an American

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this field there are ...

who was the Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...

at Stanford University from 2015 to 2020. Prior to taking over as head of the Stanford-based think tank, he served as dean of the

McCombs School of Business The McCombs School of Business (McCombs School or McCombs) is a business school at The University of Texas at Austin, a public research university in Austin, Texas. In addition to the main campus in Downtown Austin, McCombs offers classes outsid ...

The University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Gilligan previously held a variety of positions at the University of Southern California from 1987 until 2008.

Early life

Thomas Gilligan was born in San Diego, California and spent his childhood years moving from base to base along the West Coast and Hawaii. In his teens, Gilligan's family moved to Oklahoma, where he completed high school. After high school, Gilligan joined the United States Air Force where after 10 months of learning the Russian language, Gilligan intercepted communications while flying reconnaissance missions over the Soviet Union. After four-years in the Air Force, Gilligan enrolled and graduated in three years from the University of Oklahoma After graduation, Gilligan attended graduate school at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University i ...

on a fellowship program. Before completing his PhD under

Barry R. Weingast Barry Robert Weingast (born September 1, 1952) is an United States of America, American political scientist and economist, who is currently the Ward C. Krebs Family Professor at Stanford University and a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution. We ...

at Washington University, Gilligan was a staff economist on the

Council of Economic Advisers The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) is a United States agency within the Executive Office of the President established in 1946, which advises the President of the United States on economic policy. The CEA provides much of the empirical resea ...

under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Ronald Reagan from 1982–1983. Gilligan is married to Christie Skinner. The couple has three children.

Teaching career

After graduation from Washington University, Gilligan was Assistant Professor of Economics and taught undergraduate and PhD level courses in economics and political economy at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

until 1987. For the next two decades, Gilligan taught a variety of courses and held multiple positions at the

Marshall School of Business The USC Marshall School of Business is the business school of the University of Southern California. It is accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In 1997 the school was renamed following a $35 million donation fr ...

of the University of Southern California until becoming dean at the

. At the Marshall School, Gilligan was the interim dean for over a year from February 2006 until James G. Ellis replaced him in April 2007. Also, Gilligan was a visiting professor from the late-1980s until the mid-1990s at the

Stanford Graduate School of Business The Stanford Graduate School of Business (also known as Stanford GSB) is the graduate business school of Stanford University, a private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective business schoo ...

and Kellogg School of Management.

McCombs School of Business

After a nationwide search, Gilligan was appointed dean of the

in 2008. Gilligan followed George W. Gau after six years in the previous position.

The Hoover Institution

Thomas Gilligan began his tenure as the director of the

in September 2015. Gilligan stepped down from the position in September 2020.

Business career

Gilligan serves on the board of directors of

Southwest Airlines Southwest Airlines Co., typically referred to as Southwest, is one of the major airlines of the United States and the world's largest low-cost carrier. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has scheduled service to 121 destinations in the U ...

References

External links

Dean's Home Office
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gilligan, Thomas W. Living people Business school deans Hoover Institution people McCombs School of Business faculty Academics from Oklahoma People from San Diego Southwest Airlines people University of Oklahoma alumni University of Southern California faculty Washington University in St. Louis alumni Year of birth missing (living people) American university and college faculty deans