‘He changed lives’

Maurice “Maury” Weinrobe was many things: a driven researcher, a gifted teacher, a lover of classical music, and an avid runner and hiker who could stare down a rattlesnake in his path.

Weinrobe, a professor of economics for 34 years, died on May 16, 2023.

John Brown, professor emeritus of economics, who retired earlier this month, said Weinrobe had a deep appreciation for data sources, and he passed on to his students the importance of developing new data sets as part of the research process.

Brown recalled that during Weinrobe’s tenure as faculty chair, he was skilled at setting the agenda for faculty governance and for keeping conversations focused on the questions at hand. “He had a tremendous knowledge about the university,” Brown said. “I’m not sure anyone else in my time had quite the same understanding of Clark’s structure and administration — along with a great love for the university.”

Weinrobe earned his B.S. from Bradley University in 1964 and earned his Ph.D. in economics from Cornell University in 1969. He taught at Michigan State University from 1969 to 1976, before joining the Clark faculty in 1976 and working until his retirement in 2010. He was associate provost when Fern Johnson accepted the position of Clark provost in 1988.

“Lucky for me,” she recalled. “He knew every detail of the academic budget, the ins and outs of the personnel process, the wars fought and yet to be fought about space allocation, and — especially important — the ethos of Clark. What I enjoyed most about working with Maury was the hashing over of ideas and disagreements: yes-no-yes-no-well maybe, until we finally got to something that seemed right.

“When I think back to working with Maury in the Provost’s office, the words that come to mind are smart, trustworthy, responsible, candid, clear-headed, and quick-witted. Perhaps the best characteristic of Maury was his being so fully engaged in life beyond economics, spreadsheets, and the university. Maury was a terrific, engaging colleague and a valued friend over these many years.”

After Weinrobe retired, Brown remained in contact with him. In 2021, when presenting a paper at a conference in Tucson with fellow economics professor David Cuberes, Brown stayed with Weinrobe and his wife, Trudy, who had located to the area during the winter months.

“We took a good hike at Sabino Canyon, and another hiker coming toward us suddenly stopped. We looked down and saw a rattlesnake on the edge of the trail,” Brown remembered. Weinrobe encouraged everyone to remain calm, took the measure of the situation, and gently nudged the snake aside with a stick, Brown said; the snake slithered away, and the hikers could continue.

“I miss him,” Brown added. “He had a great and whimsical sense of humor. I would see him during the summer for breakfast, and I’m sad that won’t happen again.”

Economics Professor Wayne Gray was a graduate student when he first met Weinrobe. “In December 1983, I was a grad student looking for a job, and he was doing interviews for the Economics Department at the American Economic Association meetings in Boston,” Gray said. “I remember most clearly his friendly attitude, providing a clear signal that Clark was a great place to be. He helped make that true over the years with his collegiality and willingness to mentor junior faculty and many students. He showed lots of energy on and off the squash court, and was always willing to put others first, even volunteering to serve as department chair in his last years at Clark.  He will be missed.”

Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, Ph.D. ’86, M.A. ’88, a Clark trustee, knew Weinrobe as a treasured mentor in her graduate fields of public finance, economic development, and monetary policy. A master at connecting with students, he “changed lives by virtue of his quiet intellect, his humor, and his supreme manner of teaching at Clark University.”

His passions were many and varied. Hughes-Cromwick remembered during one summer stretch meeting Weinrobe for daily five-mile runs that were punctuated by his “soliloquies on music, birds, plants, odd people, culinary delights, the town of Worcester, relationships, and many topics in economics beyond my dissertation.” In retirement, he rarely talked economics but instead engaged in “discussion about new areas of exploration, his reflections on helping those in hospice, his volunteer work, his music, books he read, hiking, and his family. He always spoke of them with such love.”

The memorial service for Maury Weinrobe will be held at 11 a.m. on June 11 at Brandeis University. Donations may be made in his memory to the Good Shepherd Community Care hospice in Newton, Massachusetts, or Arizona Friends of Chamber Music. Read the full obituary.