Professors at Lake Forest College profoundly impact their students every day—in the classroom, in one-on-one conversations, or by helping make connections to professionals in their field of study.
One of those professors was Rosemary Hale, the first woman to teach in the Department of Economics.
A renowned national economist, Hale began her career as an intelligence analyst in the War Department during World War II before she first started teaching at the College in 1946.
A longtime faculty member and role model for women faculty, Hale rose to Chair of the Department of Economics in 1977. Two years later, she became the College’s first recipient of the James D. Vail III Endowed Chair.
It is fitting that four decades later, economics major Steve Osborn ’75 donated $1 million to establish the Professor Rosemary Hale Fund for Teaching and Research. To memorialize her influence on his career, Steve’s donation will establish the Professor Rosemary Hale Scholar and serve as a challenge grant for an additional $1 million from donors who were also inspired by Professor Hale’s legacy. At that time, the College will establish an endowed chair for a tenured professor in Rosemary Hale’s name.
Kent Grote named first Professor Rosemary Hale Scholar
Assistant Professor of Economics Kent Grote is the first Professor Rosemary Hale Scholar.
A member the College faculty since 1998, Grote earned his PhD in economics from George Mason University, completed a Fulbright fellowship at Bayreuth University in Bayreuth, Germany, and received his BA in economics and public administration from Doane College.
An exceptional teacher, advisor, scholar, and community member, his specializations include economics and law, industrial organization, and applied microeconomics. His research focuses attention on the behavioral consequences of state and national lottery schemes, having lengthy chapters on the topic in both the Oxford Handbook on the Economics of Gambling and in the Handbook of Sports and Lottery Markets in addition to many other peer-reviewed journal articles.
Working with his departmental colleagues, Kent will help to develop interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects and programs focused on entrepreneurship, free market research, and the legal regulations of the markets, all areas of importance to Rosemary Hale.
“She was a wonderful role model for women and a visionary in certain ways.” —Rob Baade, Ernest A Johnson Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Students felt Hale’s impact lifelong
Hale’s reputation as a tough grader and demanding professor prompted Steve Osborn ’75 to enroll in her classes as a first-year student. In what he considers a lucky break, Hale served as his academic advisor for all four years.
“She was the toughest teacher in the department and, in my opinion, the best,” Osborn said. “She was a very, very smart woman. If you took her classes, you learned a lot. And if you got a good grade from her, you knew you could do anything anywhere.”
When Osborn graduated in 1975, Hale recommended five of the 25 graduating economics majors for admissions at the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago Business School (now The University of Chicago Booth School of Business). All five got in, including Osborn. “That’s saying a lot,” he said.
Osborn said he was well-prepared for his graduate studies, which allowed him to successfully earn his MBA with concentrations in finance and accounting. Osborn’s career includes consulting work peppered with business ownership. The Forester owned Trilogy Plastics, a once-bankrupt custom molding company, for 34 years.
“When I bought the company, they had 13 employees. When I sold it in 2021, we had 280,” he said. “We did business with everybody from Peterbilt to Coca-Cola, and everybody in between.”
Osborn credits his professors at Lake Forest College with his career success. “I got a really good grounding in economics and how I view the world in terms of supply and demand. I was successful because of that.”
By naming his donation to the College the Professor Rosemary Hale Fund for Teaching and Research, Osborn hopes to reinforce what professors are doing at Lake Forest College every day.
“They are making a difference in people’s lives,” he said.
“Rosemary had a common-sense approach toward learning, toward what it took to prepare students to go out into the world. She strengthened the College in many ways.” —Carol Gayle, Associate Professor of History, Emerita
Hale helped launch first internship program
Hale and Professor of Politics, Emeritus Paul Fischer established the College’s first structured internship program in 1974. Drawing on her connections to the business executives who lived in Lake Forest, Hale arranged internships for her students to provide them with an opportunity to work in the field of economics before graduation.
“Rosemary was a member of the community, which meant she had good local connections,” said Associate Professor of History, Emerita Carol Gayle, who considered Hale a mentor, support, and guide. “And she was a practically-minded economist who believed that part of a student’s education should be useful and practical. She recognized the importance of students having the experience of actually working in their field.”
Such an approach “was new at the College and relatively new in higher education, in general,” said Eugene Hotchkiss, President, Emeritus. Today, experiential learning is part of the Lake Forest curriculum and the Forester internship program and Gorter Family Career Advancement Center set it apart from other liberal arts colleges across the Midwest.
Ernest A Johnson Professor of Economics, Emeritus Rob Baade felt the respect Hale commanded when he joined the economics faculty in 1973.
“Rosemary had a presence. She was no shrinking violet. She was somebody you paid attention to,” Baade said. An empathetic and warm person who showed concern for her students, he is not surprised Hale used her connections among the local business executives to create internship opportunities.
“She was a little ahead of her time,” Baade said. Her classes, advising, and internships were “memorable for her students, maybe even life-altering,” he said.
Osborn agrees. “She was very instrumental in launching a lot of students’ careers,” he said.