Chancellor Brady J. Deaton was honored April 18 at Cornell University with the Dr. Clifton R. Wharton Jr. Award for his accomplishments in higher education and foreign economic development. Cornell’s Emerging Markets Program, formed to open a dialogue on emerging international market economies, confers the award annually.
During his career, Deaton has given administrative assistance to Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. He offered expertise on the 1997 Asian economic crash and after the 2004 tsunami that struck Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
On Feb. 23, 2012, Deaton received an honorary doctorate in public administration from Khon Kaen University in Thailand. At the ceremony in Reynolds Alumni Center, Peerasit Kamnuansilpa, adviser to the dean for research and international affairs at Khon Kaen, told Deaton that the degree is only “a small fraction of your many contributions to Thailand.”
In 2011, Deaton was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development, which explores ways through science and public policy to help feed impoverished people in the world.
The Wharton Award is given to someone who’s shown outstanding service, leadership and contribution to economic progress in emerging markets. The award’s namesake, Clifton R. Wharton, was a philanthropist and economist who aided Southeast Asian economies.
Last year’s Wharton recipient was Per Pinstrup-Anderson, a Danish economist and policymaker who has worked to reform food subsidy programs on a global scale. In 2011, Willene A. Johnson, economic consultant specializing in finance and development, received the award.