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, an ...

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 , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

from 1987 until 2008.

Early life

Thomas Gilligan was born in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

and spent his childhood years moving from base to base along the West Coast and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. In his teens, Gilligan's family moved to Oklahoma, where he completed high school. After high school, Gilligan joined the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

where after 10 months of learning the Russian language, Gilligan intercepted communications while flying reconnaissance missions over the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. After four-years in the Air Force, Gilligan enrolled and graduated in three years from the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

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 is r ...

on a fellowship program. Before completing his PhD under Barry R. Weingast at Washington University, Gilligan was a staff economist on the Council of Economic Advisers 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 ...

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

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 James George Ellis (born 9 Jan 1947 Tacoma, Washington) is an American academician, professor, and former business executive who, for the last years, was the dean of the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California in Los ...

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 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.

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