OSU economist among Hall of Fame inductees

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

When it comes to straight talk about Oklahoma's economy, colleagues and reporters alike rave about Dr. Larkin Warner, economist and Regents Professor emeritus at Oklahoma State University.

They say it comes as no surprise that Warner was among those inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame on Oct. 18 during ceremonies at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.

One of Warner’s colleagues at OSU, Dr. Jerry Lage, calls him a true professional.

“Larkin always managed to draw practical insights from economic data that he could share with others, and that’s what makes that data so valuable in the first place,” said Lage, who added that he was struck by Warner’s thoroughness, organization, disciplined thinking and logic.

Warner worked for OSU for 33 years, and his economic savvy brought considerable attention to the university. He is mainly noted for his research, which emphasized practical issues in Oklahoma's public finance, education and transportation.

“Larkin has been a tremendous asset to the state when it comes to our policy on expenditures. He worked on a project with the Kerr Foundation for years that actually tracked state expenditures and their functions and services. He knows how to interpret his findings and convert them into budgetary policy recommendations that can help the state develop over the long term,” Lage said.

Former KOSU news reporter Paul Sund, who now serves as Gov. Brad Henry’s communications director, said he remembers his many interviews with Warner well.

“I knew I could trust Larkin as someone who could explain Oklahoma’s economic situation in a way that all of us could understand. It was a pure pleasure to be assigned to talk to him," Sund said.

As good as he is as an economist and communicator, ask Warner about the task he has prized most over the years; his answer might surprise you.

“I have always appreciated access to the Edmon Low Library," Warner said. "This is truly the university’s major academic asset. I particularly value my recollections of Edmon Low himself. I was chair of the Faculty Council’s Library Committee the last year that Mr. Low was head librarian — sometime in the mid-1960s.”

Warner’s research collection is available at the library.

Warner insists his Hall of Fame honor is the result of “being in the right institutional setting with colleagues and administrators who shared my commitment to research and public service for economic development in Oklahoma.”

“It is amazing that three of these individuals, all of whom are retired members of the Department of Economics and Legal Studies in business at OSU, have preceded me as Hall of Fame honorees — Richard Poole, Richard Leftwich and Robert Sandmeyer,” he said.