Roberts Appointed Bass Professor

Roberts Appointed Bass Professor

01 July 2016 12:41PM

Professor James W. Roberts has been appointed to an endowed professorship in the university's Bass Program for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. He will hold the Fred W. Shaffer Professor of Economics chair for a five-year term — effective July 1 — after which he will become a lifetime member of the Bass Society of Fellows.

"It's nice to know that Duke as a university recognizes efforts not only in research but also in the classroom. Having this program in place reflects more on Duke's commitment to undergraduate education than it does on me," Roberts said.

The Bass Society of Fellows is an opportunity for some of Duke’s most celebrated educators to pool their experiences and resources and to exchange ideas in a casual setting. Through regular meetings of professors across the university, the Bass Society seeks to develop innovative ways to connect students and faculty in an academic setting as well as to bring together various disciplines.

“Being selected as a Bass professor is an exceptional honor at Duke,” said Steve Nowicki, dean and vice provost for undergraduate education. “Candidates are nominated by faculty, evaluated by a special committee and chosen each spring based on evidence they are not only international leaders in research, but also exceptional undergraduate teachers. In particular, the committee seeks documentation of rigorous and innovative undergraduate teaching that inspires students and connects them with Duke’s research mission.”

Roberts no doubt exemplifies what it means to be a Bass professor. He is a “rising star” in the field of industrial organization, according to Department of Economics Chair Craig Burnside, and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research. According to Burnside, while Roberts’ research efforts led to an early promotion to tenure, his accomplishments in the classroom are just as impressive. He has a reputation for bringing research alive in the classroom with a mix of lecture and discussion-based teaching methods, and his teaching evaluations rank among the top 5 percent university-wide. Additionally, he has advised more than 60 Ph.D., master’s, and undergraduate students.

Roberts credits his undergraduate institution, Davidson College, for inspiring him to adopt a liberal arts-style teaching style to a large research university environment. According to Roberts, his professors at Davidson were extremely dedicated teachers. "They focused a lot on teaching, they taught a lot more classes, and held almost perpetual office hours. When I'm teaching here at Duke, I'm trying as best I can to mimic the kind of experience I had at Davidson," he said.

For Roberts, that means creating a holistic environment that encourages learning and success, whether in the classroom, through homework and exams, or during office hours and at faculty-student lunches. 

"My impression is that students learn best when they are at least somewhat passionate about what they're learning but certainly when they're engaged with what they're learning. I try to present the material in a way that relates either to their lives and goals or to the practicality of the material so they can buy into the fact that what I'm saying is going to be relevant to their understanding of the world," he said. "I want the experience to resonate with them so they get more than a grade at the end of the semester; they emerge with a new skill set and understanding of the world."