OT: Rutgers Economics Professor Joseph J. Seneca, RIP

[BigLou]

Remembering Rutgers Economist Joseph Seneca

www.rutgers.edu

Those lucky enough to have been a student of J.J. Seneca will be saddened to hear of his passing.

I had him for several classes and he was a very good teacher. Also an expert in New Jersey’s economy.

It was probably about 5 years ago I attended an event where he was speaking. Afterwards I got the chance to speak to him. He was thrilled to meet a former student and was gracious and generous with his time. I am sure he will be missed by many.

 

[GoodOl'Rutgers]

knew a lot of eco and biz majors.. they all talked about Senecca. RIP.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

Eco 101 and 102 in the late 70s. He was absolutely brilliant, personable, and a main reason I was inspired to major in Economics.

Man I am getting old. I am saddened. They don't make them like him anymore.

Edit: I said what I said before reading that link. My God. What a treasure he was.

 

[Eagleton96]

He was one of my professors in grad school and a friend. Witty, brilliant and kind. RIP.

 

[LETSGORU91]

Sorry to hear of his passing. I'm pretty sure I had him for Econ. Can someone back me up on this? Didnt he make it a point to remember everyone's name in his class? And not only that, I recall him trying to do it within the first few lectures.

 

[hoquat63]

Was never fortunate enough to have him for a class. Did get to play basketball against him in an Eco faculty vs. Eco Honor Society game.
Also had dealings with him when he became VP for student affairs and I was working on financial area of RU.
He also was very good at identifying bird calls, iirc.

 

[RutgersRaRa]

This makes me sad even though I haven’t seen him since 1980 when I had him as a freshman for micro-econ. My friends and I used to just say “J.J.” when referring to him among each other, and we always knew who we were talking about. He was a nice guy and a good teacher. Pretty sure the class was in Scott 135 or 123, though it might have been in one of the river dorms.

 

[famousbill19]

Had him for Micro 101 in the late 80's. Terrific professor. I was in Pharmacy, but the concepts he taught have stuck with me to this day. Was always proud to seem him quoted in the press on economic matters, he was a such a strong representative of the university.

 

[DennisHajekRC84]

This makes me sad even though I haven’t seen him since 1980 when I had him as a freshman for micro-econ. My friends and I used to just say “J.J.” when referring to him among each other, and we always knew who we were talking about. He was a nice guy and a good teacher. Pretty sure the class was in Scott 135 or 123, though it might have been in one of the river dorms.

Had that class first semester frosh year (1977), followed by Macro. Yes Scott..with about 200 other students in main lecture setting. Smaller breakouts with TAs in other locations.

 

[e5fdny]

Love this little tidbit...

“Although deeply modest, Seneca’s one boast was that he had hit safely in seven consecutive decades, from the 1950s to the 2010s.”

We were the lucky ones. While not an alum he’s a Loyal Son in my book. RIP.

 

[Good-Knight]

Had him Monday morning for my first class ever at RU in Scott 123. He was a perfect example of someone who understood the subject so well that he could readily explain in simple terms. OF the classes that I think I used later in life Micro Econ and Macro Econ where taught by Prof. Seneca, Statistics, Cost Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Financial Accounting, Shakespeare I and II, Comp Sci 101 and 111 round out the list. The others may have been interesting but didn't have a life or career impact.

 

[RutgersRaRa]

Had him Monday morning for my first class ever at RU in Scott 123. He was a perfect example of someone who understood the subject so well that he could readily explain in simple terms. OF the classes that I think I used later in life Micro Econ and Macro Econ where taught by Prof. Seneca, Statistics, Cost Accounting, Managerial Accounting, Financial Accounting, Shakespeare I and II, Comp Sci 101 and 111 round out the list. The others may have been interesting but didn't have a life or career impact.

I remember learning about the "elasticity of demand" in Prof. Seneca's class, and trying to initially wrap my brain around the concept because this sort of ideation was different than that presented in high school. I had Balinky (sp?) for macro, and the contrast between the way he and Professor Seneca engaged their classes was striking. We used to burst out laughing during class with Balinky at how boring the class was, and not necessarily due to the subject matter. That class was in either Hardenburg or Frelinghuysen, and I still remember how painful it was.

 

[BigLou]

Had that class first semester frosh year (1977), followed by Macro. Yes Scott..with about 200 other students in main lecture setting. Smaller breakouts with TAs in other locations.

You and I may have been in the same class.

 

[FrankZ]

Micro/Macro - '89/90'ish. Never wound up doing anything with my Economics major, but it certainly wasn't due to Prof. Seneca.

 

[RU85inFla]

Great guy. Had him for micro, macro, environmental and econometrics. Turned that into a TA offer in grad school and was TA for him.

 

[BigRnj]

He was easily one of my favorites. I had him for micro and environmental economics. He was very involved with NJ public policy at the state level back then. RIP.

 

[RUnTeX]

I did an optional Econ minor out of the engineering school but never got the opportunity to take him for any of my six courses through the department. I tried to register for one of his courses (Environmental maybe?) but couldn't get in as it was fully closed. One of the Econ dept's heavyweights for sure and will be missed.

 

[RUTGERS95]

knew him well and will also say, RU has had some outstanding econ profs

 

[Mr Magoo]

I had him for 101 and 102 in the large Scott Hall lecture room in the mid 80s. He would call on you by name in that packed room...and you had better be there.

 

[taudelt73]

I never had an economics course with Dr Seneca but had his wife, Rosalind for several courses at Livingston. She taught economics there in the early 70's.

 

[1RUFan]

I had him in 78 for the intro classes and he was great. Learned a lot from him. Your right Mr. Magoo you better be able to answer his question on the spot in a packed room. Prof. Seneca would randomly pick from a class roster. He usually kept us late because he wanted to make sure we got our money's worth. Met him a few times at Rutgers events and Men's basketball games. He was always happy to see his former students. Another professor during that time was Sidney Simon.

 

[SKWC]

I had Professor Seneca in 1968 for micro. He was thorough and very thoughtful. We re-connected around 2006 when he spoke to a group of clients and later in 2011 when he consulted and adviced on a study related to taxes and migration from New Jersey. During these interactions, I realized how fortunate I has to have studied under him. I just wish that I paid more attention to Joe in 1968.

 

[RUScrew85]

Pretty sure I had him too.

 

[RUTexas1987]

One of the few Professors I remember. I was an EE major, but after his Macro class, almost all my electives were eco related.

 

[hoquat63]

Interesting how many had him for first year eco in large class setting. When I took 101/102 in 1967 we had a TA and about 30 guys, same for 201/202. Didn’t have an actual professor until 300 level courses