Barcelona, 26 June 2024.- On Wednesday, Pompeu Fabra University hosted a tribute to UPF doctor and emeritus professor, Andreu Mas-Colell. The University of Minnesota, where he is a doctor, has awarded him the prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award 2023 for his exceptional career and leadership in research, education and institutional development. The event was organized jointly by Pompeu Fabra University, the Barcelona School of Economics, and the BIST, three institutions linked to Mas-Colell’s career. 

“Everything I have done has been thanks to a collective effort”, Andreu Mas-Colell stated in his award acceptance speech. In an extensive review of his professional career as an economist, Mas-Colell praised the work of his teachers, “the teachers’ role is essential for our intellectual development”. “Minnesota has been very present in my life after returning to Barcelona”, he explained, highlighting three elements: the presence of so-called ‘Minnesotos’ (group of economists), the teaching schedules of Pompeu Fabra University, which emulate the schedules of the US university; and the goal of the public university to achieve excellence in research. 

The rector of UPF, Laia de Nadal, said that Mas-Colell’s “wisdom and guidance” have been key in distinguishing and advancing UPF since its inception: “your influence and vision have shaped our university into what it is today”. De Nadal recalled that Andreu Mas-Colell was “one of the founding visionaries” of UPF and he has been fundamental in the development of the Faculty of Economics and Business, “establishing it as a leading institution in education and research in economics in Europe”, a department that has become a “beacon of academic excellence”. 

Foto: Universitat de Minnesota / Edu Pedrocchi
 

For her part, the director of the Barcelona School of Economics (BSE), Teresa Garcia-Milà, wished to highlight  Mas-Colell’s “generosity, creativity, and audacity”. “Barcelona School of Economics is an imaginative idea (of Mas-Colell’s) that consolidates the research power in economics of four institutions and multiplies their impact internationally”. 

The director of the ICFO, Lluís Torner, who spoke on behalf of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), highlighted Mas-Colell’s vision of producing a disruptive change to science in Catalonia, creating institutions like ICREA and cutting-edge research centres such as the CRG, ICIQ or ICFO. 

The event was presided by Rachel Croson, executive vice-president and provost of the University of Minnesota, along with Thomas J. Holmes, head of its Department of Economics. Also intervening were Timothy J. Kehoe, a professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota; Josep Oliu, president of Banc Sabadell and PhD from the University of Minnesota; and John Roberts, a professor of Economics at Stanford University and a PhD from the University of Minnesota.