We are sad to relay news of the passing of our friend and colleague, Emeritus Professor Roger Betancourt. Roger, who received his PhD from the University of Wisconsin, joined our department as an Assistant Professor in 1969, and spent his entire academic career at Maryland, becoming an Emeritus Professor in 2007. Roger’s research interests covered a range of applied questions, including production technologies, retailing and distribution, and he was also active in the study of the Cuban economy. He was one of the founders of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy in 1990. ASCE remains an active society today.

Within our department, Roger had a reputation both as a creative economist who would be willing to engage with faculty or visitors on any issue, and as an unusually devoted advisor and mentor to Ph.D. students in a wide range of fields. In 2006, his former students, many of whom stayed in close touch with Roger, created the “Roger and Alicia Betancourt Fellowship in Applied Economics” which is a competitive fellowship that supports a Ph.D. student who is their final year of the program and who is studying a topic in applied economics. Roger was also generous with his time, and good humor, to all of us, and we will miss him.

Anyone wishing to support the Betancourt Fellowship fund is encouraged to make a donation here. Any former students and faculty who would like to know more about events to honor
Roger should write to econoffice [at] umd [dot] edu.

Posted 4/11/24