THOMAS COOLEY

COOLEY--Thomas F. It is with the greatest sadness that we report the passing of Thomas Ferguson Cooley, 78. He died peacefully at home in Santa Barbara, CA, October 9, 2021, surrounded by his loving family: wife of 44 years, Patricia; daughter Frederika; sons Aaron and Joshua; daughter-in-law Margarita; and his ever-loyal and constantly comforting pooch, Maxie. He was predeceased by son, Noah, in 2013. Tom always claimed that his greatest achievements were his children. As a husband and father he loved deeply and unfailingly, and we are all be the beneficiaries of his warmth, generosity, refined and eclectic tastes, and stupendous cooking. Tom was a man who was interested in everything and who wanted to taste and experience all that life has to offer as well as share it all with others. Born in Rutland, VT, Tom attended Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, receiving a BS in Engineering in 1965. He then moved immediately into a job at IBM in New York City. But his searing intellect wanted more. He quite shortly left IBM to pursue a Ph.D. in Economics at the University of Pennsylvania where he completed his degree studying under two subsequent Nobel Prize winners, Lawrence Klein and Edward Prescott. Tom's first academic appointment was at Tufts University. He then moved on to the University of California, Santa Barbara where he met his wife Patricia. The couple later went to the University of Rochester in 1987, where Tom began the work that would change the field of Macro Economics forever. An extraordinarily productive and influential researcher, Tom published over 60 research papers, multiple working papers and book chapters, and two books. In the late 1980's he turned his focus to evaluating macro economic policies in the context of real business cycle models, and his research attracted even greater attention. This influential work includes addressing important policy questions related to monetary policy, the funding of social security, and the financial behavior of firms. He was recognized as a Fellow to the Econometric Society and awarded an honorary doctorate by the Stockholm School of Economics. He had editorial responsibilities for the most highly rated economics journals for over 30 years and was a founder and President of the Society of Economic Dynamics. Tom Cooley was also an accomplished administrator and served as Dean of the Stern School of Business from 2002-2010 where his leadership was widely recognized as the force behind a number of the school's significant accomplishments in development, faculty hiring and course curriculum. He was widely considered to be a considerate, kind and attentive listener who always revered the views of colleagues and subordinates. Professor Cooley wrote a regular column for Forbes, and his contributions appeared in a number of outlets including Newsweek, the Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. He held visiting positions at Carnegie-Mellon University, the University of Western Australia, The University of London, the Stockholm School of Economics and the European University Institute. Tom supported many charitable organizations - in particular those whose work encouraged the development of young people. He served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Scholarship Foundation and gave generously to Shanti Bhavan School in India. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be directed to these organizations. Thomas Cooley will be deeply missed by all who knew him and benefited from his generous spirit.