John was a truly wonderful human being. He was so giving of his time and energy with younger scholars. I will miss his ready smile and warm demeanor. RIP John. — Geoff Schneider (Bucknell University)
As others have stated, John was one of the nicest, most generous, and knowledgeable scholars I have known. His work is inspiring and his help in developing my own has been invaluable. He will be greatly missed. — David Zalewski (Providence College)
I am so sad at the passing of John Henry. I would like to echo what Geoff said. John was so supportive of young scholars, always found a way to add humor to a session. He will be sorely missed. — John Watkins (Westminster College)
I'm so sorry to learn about this. John was one of the first scholars that provided encouragement to me when I was a PhD student trying to figure out how to progress with my research. He was so supportive, and along with his great critical thinking he had a great sense of humor. — Tonia Warnecke (Rollins College)
What a terribly sad piece of news. John and I were in irregular but more than occasional contact about various matters of academia and scholarship, most recently concerning the very fine tribute he had published in JEI in honour of another departed giant, Marc Tool. John’s book “The Making of Neoclassical Economics” ought to be core reading on any history of economic thought course. His portrayal of the intellectual struggle against the labour theory of value is as fascinating as it is damning. I’m sorry not to be able to consult him any longer in person, and suddenly conscious of the weight of responsibility that those of us now in our more mature phases of career and life must carry as we honour John’s and Marc’s respective intellectual legacies. Thank you, John, for your outstanding contribution to the struggle for a better world. — Michael Keaney (Finland)
I think Michael Keany’s observations are spot-on. Many thanks for making them, Michael. You write eloquently for many of us, I think. Obviously this is very sad news. A dark day in dark times. John was a lovely person, full of fun, as well as a fine scholar. I have many happy memories of him (and Fred Lee – a fine double act) on visits to UMKC and US conferences. I’ll miss his wisdom and sense of fun. — Robert McMaster (University of Glasgow)
I too would like to echo what others have been saying. John was one of my baseball buddies, but long ago I forgave him for being a Cardinals fan. No one can make all of the right choices. I will miss him greatly. — James Peach (New Mexico State University)
So sorry to hear this news. John was a force, and had an enormous positive and lasting impact on so many of our community. I will miss him. — Eric Hake (Catawba College)
I want to echo what everyone else has said. John was enormously generous with his time and ideas, and, to follow on Jim's comments, had the wisdom to be a fellow Cardinals fan. He will definitely be missed. — Jan Knoedler (Bucknell University)
Thank you for sharing this. This is a tremendous loss to our community, as well as each of us individually. He was a good friend and helpful and generous critic. He taught me a great deal. I will miss him greatly—I already do. — Bill Waller (Hobart and William Smith Colleges)
I appreciated John’s intellect, how he gave of his time and talents to students and AFEE, and his sense of humor. — Deb Figart (Stockton University)
This is sad news indeed. — Anne Mayew (University of Tennessee Knoxville)
I too am very sorry to learn about this. I first met John in England 25 years ago, when I was a PhD student, and he was a visiting scholar, staying at my college. Later on, we met at several conferences in the U.S. and a few in Europe. He was a very nice person with a great sense of humor. — David Dequech (Brazil)
We are very sad. When I told Theresa about John’s passing, she said, “ He was a great guy—so kind, gentle, and supportive.” I would add that the profession has suffered a great loss in many different ways. — Greg Hayden (U of Nebraska, Lincoln)
John’s passing is so sad for so many of us.I was in awe of his knowledge, willingness to engage, ability to ‘translate’ the most complex into the understandable and his wonderful humour. John and Charlene were due to visit with me, in Sydney (Australia), during September – I was so excited, so many plans; alas, not to be. Tae-Hee and I started a project with John in late 2019 in honour of Fred Lee – that project will now honour the amazing contributions of both John and Fred. One of my fondest memories of this project with John was when he would ring Tae-Hee for a ‘reminder’ about how to connect for our Zoom discussions and then – given our time zone difference – I would be drinking my breakfast coffee and he would be having a whisky! — Lynne Chester (U of Sydney)
He is a great loss for Heterodox and Institutional Economics, we will miss him very much. — Jairo Parada (Colombia)
I appreciate the statements some of you sent that summarized John's life and career. He earned a big following of people he affected, including me. Many of us sent manuscripts to review before we submitted them for consideration of publishers. He was generous with his time. He amazed me that he could sit in session after session at a conference and ask such penetrating questions in such a pleasant manner. The first time I met John was at Sac State when I was asked to review their department. He was a memorable character then too. They asked me to meet with Stephanie Kelton who was a student. The faculty was very proud of her, and we now know why. Many of us will miss his humor messages that he forwarded to various lists, depending on the humor. The length of those lists reveal how far and wide his friendships extended — even to Nevada as John would say. They were international in scope. The last time I spoke with John was Thursday 9/27/2020 [Must be 9/24?]. He was at home then and his voice was strong and his mind and humor were sharp. What a guy and what a loss. — Glen Atkinson (U of Nevada, Reno)
John Henry's passing is a very sad event. He was a good friend and scholar. I will miss him, as will many others. Another empty chair. So long, citoyen. — Bill Dugger (U of Tulsa)
I’ve just read the moving remembrances of John Henry in the Journal of Economic Issues, most written by those who studied or worked with him (and one by Geoffrey Harcourt, who offers memories of John’s days as a doctoral student). This message is to briefly share a few recollections of my own. I was never a student in John’s courses, nor did we work together at the same university. But that didn’t matter. And I’ve always been a reformer, while he was revolutionary. That didn’t matter, either. (Indeed, he generously provided a campaign contribution when I ran for Congress.) At the start of my career, John saw me deliver a presentation at a meeting of the Association for Institutional Thought. On the basis of that presentation, he decided I was serious about heterodox economics and took me under his wing. Of course, John always treated me as a professional equal. For example, he often asked me to comment on his papers, and provided a gracious acknowledgment even when I didn’t offer much help. But, in fact, he was clearly the mentor—kindly offering thoughtful research and career advice over several decades—and today I’m certainly a better institutional economist because of that relationship. John was an exemplary colleague. He provided vital encouragement and assistance in those early days when the hourglass was running out on my non-tenure-track position, even taking it upon himself to make inquiries on my behalf at Staffordshire University and elsewhere. Year after year, he was never too busy to offer comments on my papers and recommend where they might get published. And he always found time to have lunch or dinner with me at professional conferences. John didn’t merely teach about the important role of culture in the economy and society—he modeled it every day, throughout his career. I suppose that means I’ve actually been John’s student all along—one of the many of us fortunate to have participated in his tutorial on professional development. A classroom without walls, and a culture of mutual respect and collegiality: revolutionary indeed! I can think of no better way for us to honor his memory than to keep that tradition alive. -- Charles Whalen (U of Buffalo), Oct 11, 2021 (AFEE mail).
Yes, I agree. He was an important institutional economist and helpful to many, including me. -- Glen Atkinson (U of Nevada Reno), Oct 11, 2021 (AFEE mail)
John Henry and I were good friends and fellow workers over a considerable period. News of his death has struck me as a hard blow. -- Howard Sherman (UCLA)
Yes, John was a wonderful colleague and friend. Always willing to review your paper with complete honesty and with an assumption that you were grown up enough to handle it. My future work will suffer because he is gone. There is another aspect or two of John that I have not seen in this thread. John had an extraordinary sense of humor not often on display. He was also a very knowledgeable baseball fan. Among a small group of, should I even say it, institutionalist baseball fans who frequently exchanged emails, John was always involved. From my perspective as a Cubs fan, John (a fan of the evil Cardinals) was a relentless defender of the Cards and detractor of the Cubs. I hate to admit it but I am a better analyst of MLB because of John. Still, he seemed amused and he did not begrudge my very expensive last minute trip to Chicago in 2016 to see game 4 of the World Series in person. John understood that I probably did not have another 108 years to wait for the next Cubs appearance in the World Series. So, I miss John not only as a good colleague but as a baseball buddy with a sense of humor. -- James Peach (New Mexico State University), Oct 12, AFEE mail.
On the evening of Saturday, September 26th, John Henry passed away peacefully while his wife Charlene Heinen and his children were in his company. What to say about John Henry? Simply and accurately put, he was one of the very best things ever to happen to the CSUS economics department. Beyond John’s home department, his contributions to the university’ students and academic faculty deserve not to be forgotten.
When I met him I suspected that something of great value could happen if he chose to teach at CSUS. He and I met at a meeting of the American Economic Association: it was my first recruiting assignment and it was his first job-seeking effort. John recently had completed his Ph.D. work at McGill University. Our recruitment procedure went by no “book.” It took place at an evening meeting over a bottle of scotch. Neither of us was much of a drinker so after a reasonably late night of talk and too much of the scotch, we called it quits and turned in. The next morning I could remember only his first name, but that was all. I had no way of contacting him but he solved the problem—he walked off with my CSUS catalogue. The following morning he had no idea who I was and where I was from. But the stolen catalogue saved the day and it led to something of great value for the department and the university.
Ordinarily I try to avoid superlatives but in John’s case that’s an impossible task. Both his scholarship and his contribution to teaching and learning were superlative at CSUS (1970-2004) and at the University of Missouri at Kansas City where he taught from 2004 to 2014. John’s research focused on the history of economic thought, post Keynesian economics, economic history, heterodox economics and political economy. He authored two books, one published by Routledge the other by MacMillan. Over the years he authored 50 academic articles published in various refereed journals. His scholarly contributions earned him several awards including the highly respected Veblen-Commons Award that was bestowed on him in 2016. His publications were truly impressive, often ground breaking and never trivial.
Closer to home, his teaching was extraordinary and it earned him a Teaching Award in 1998 and an Outstanding Service Award in 2003. Later he delivered the John C. Livingston Annual Faculty Lecture. His main aim in the classroom was “to liberate students from the shackles of conventional thought.” He was able to motivate a number of very solid students and nurture them through their undergraduate programs which served to send them on their way to graduate schools and then to first-rate academic careers.
John was a contributor to the department including as vice chair. The day to day running of a department was not his favorite “thing to do” but he did it for nine years during the time that Peter Lund and I chaired economics. Peter also joined our faculty in 1970 and the three of us began a friendship that lasted for 50 years. Both Peter and I will miss him. As chairs, we recognized how generous he was with his time, how open his office hours were to students and how genuinely nice he was to people!
In addition to helping out with departmental details, John made a number of memorable things happen. One occurred during a conversation he and I had about our colleague John Ranlett. We both held Ranlett in very high esteem and Henry suggested that the department ought to recognize what Ranlett meant to it over the decades. Our conversation led to the creation of the John Ranlett Lecture series which continues to feature a visiting scholar each academic spring.
Anyone interested in knowing more about John’s academic contributions might want to call up his name on Google, a convenient way to know more about him. It’s impossible for me to cover everything and it’s very difficult for me to end writing about my friend and colleague John Henry. But I must stop somewhere and it might as well be here.
Source: https://www.csus.edu/org/retirees/in_memory/2020_mem.html
John Henry inspired many a student during his tenure as a teacher of economics. With your support, a plaque in John’s memory will be added to the existing bench dedicated to another past CSUS Professor of Economics, Joseph Furey, who taught at CSUS from 1967 – 1996. While a generation apart, they were good friends who shared a common perspective. Many a student “majored in classes from John and Joe.” Former students still benefit from the insights of political economy revealed in courses taught by the two Professors.
Both Professor Furey and Professor Henry conveyed to students a high standard of academic integrity and intellectual honesty. They shared a vision of a better world based on rationality and science in the face of those insisting on an unreasonable, irrational, and anti-science world.
As advocates for working and oppressed people anywhere in the world, they were relentlessly critical of economists who consciously rationalize and perpetuate injustice. Both were active in unionizing activities for California State University System professors. Both often gave campus-wide lectures or presentations on some contemporaneous topic upon request by student organizations.
Professor Henry received many accolades while here at CSUS. “The CSUS School of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies awarded Dr. Henry the Outstanding Teacher Award in 1998 and the Outstanding Service Award in 2003. In 2001 he was selected by the university to deliver the John C. Livingston Annual Faculty Lecture, the highest honor bestowed by the faculty of that institution.” (Sacramento Bee Obituary)
Professor Henry, a faculty leader well-respected by his peers, served terms as the department vice-chair. As a Sac State peer wrote: “Simply and accurately put, he was one of the very best things ever to happen to the CSUS economics department. Beyond John’s home department, his contributions to the university students and academic faculty deserve not to be forgotten.” (CSUS Retirees Association: In Memory Archives for the Year 2020; Bob Curry, Professor of Economics, 1966-1997.) As a professor, “His main objective in his teaching career was to help liberate the minds of students from the shackles of conventional thought.” (Sacramento Bee Obituary)
After retiring from Sac State, Professor Henry went on to teach for more than a decade at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, where he was recruited by two former Sac State students on the UM faculty,-- two former Sac State students who, though separated in their studies at Sac State by 10 years, have made and are making significant contributions in the field of economics. After leaving UMKC, he taught as a Senior Scholar at the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College. John continued to make an impact at these two institutions. It is readily apparent from the memory pages written upon John’s death that those who interacted with him at UMKC and Bard College also experienced many of the same insights and academic awakenings that Professor Henry provided at our own CSUS.
A dedication ceremony will be held in the Fall of 2021 to commemorate Professor Henry’s sharing of the memorial bench established in circa 1997 for his mentor in political economy, friend and close confidant, Professor Joseph Furey. Fittingly, this memorial bench to Joe Furey exists due to John Henry’s effort 24 years ago.
Enrico “Ric” Maggenti, CSUS Alumnus: BA History 1979; BS Civil Engineering, Minor Economics 1985 (source: Professor Henry memorial funding site, https://swarmfunding.csus.edu/project/25982)
With the death of John Henry at the age of 77, the economics profession lost a fine scholar and the dissenting economists’ community, one of its most courageous and out- spoken voices. I first met John when he was doing a PhD at McGill in the 1970s with my great friend and contemporary, Athanasios ‘Tom’ Asimakopulos, as supervisor. I read and commented on drafts of his dissertation on JB Clark and the origins of neoclassical economics as they emerged. Thus began our deep friendship of nearly 50 years.
John was first and foremost an extraordinary teacher as the testimony of former pupils and teaching awards he received confirms. Because of his correct but unfashionable views he was unable to get a job in Ivy League or leading state universities, so he taught at Sacramento State College from 1970 till 2003 with a teaching load at least twice those of the ‘top’ universities. This did not prevent John from writing two classic books, John Bates Clark, published by Macmillan in 1995 and The Making of Neoclassical Economics, published by Unwin Hyman in 1990 and reprinted by Routledge in 2011. He also published many articles on the history of economic thought, economic history and political economy. Some were jointly with former pupils, especially with Stephanie Kelton (née Bell). With John’s support, Stephanie came to Cambridge in the 1970s to do an MPhil where I taught her. Stephanie and her family remained close to John, Charlene and their family; Stephanie’s children thought of Charlene and John as ‘surrogate grandparents’.
John read extremely widely and deeply, not only in the economics literature but also in history, philosophy and theology, all of which enriched his understanding of the important issues on which he taught and wrote. He was a true polymath, a modern renaissance man. His contributions were recognised both by his universities (after retiring from Sacramento State, he taught at the University of Missouri at Kansas City until 2014 and then was a Senior Scholar at The Levy Economics Institute, Bard College, New York) and the profession at large – for example, he received the Veblen Commons Award of the Association of Evolutionary Economics in 2016.
John was extraordinarily courageous and outspoken on many issues of social injustice, both in the university community and the community at large. But his most outstanding traits were kindness, concern and care for others. I received from him a letter dated 14 September, the contents of which completely overwhelmed me. When leukaemia, diagnosed in 2013 as ‘relatively benign’ turned ‘aggressive and terminal’, he for- went treatment and set himself a ‘to-do’ list from which the letter to me came.
He and Charlene Heinen were happily married for 41 years. He has two daughters from a previous marriage.
To have known John was one of the greatest privileges of my life. John was a remarkable teacher, scholar and human being.
Acknowledgement: I am most grateful to Charlene Heinen and Stephanie Kelton for sending me details of John’s life.
Source: The Economic and Labour Relations Review 2021, Vol. 32(1) 143–144 .