Former CREF Trustee Paul Samuelson Dies

December 14, 2009

It was announced Sunday that famed economist and Nobel Prize winner Paul A. Samuelson died at age 94. Professor Samuelson served as a Trustee for CREF from 1974 to 1985. Each year, to honor his contributions, the TIAA-CREF Institute grants an award in his name.

In addition to his service to TIAA-CREF, Samuelson was professor emeritus of MIT's economics department and wrote a ground-breaking textbook, "Economics: An Introductory Analysis," which sold nearly four million copies and has been translated into 40 languages. He also advised Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson.

"Paul Samuelson possessed one of the sharpest minds in the field of macroeconomics and TIAA-CREF was strengthened by his insight," said Roger W. Ferguson, Jr., TIAA-CREF's CEO and President. "We are indebted to him and offer his family our condolences."