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“HONORING KARMA GAETANO HADJIMICHALAKIS” mentioning the Federal Reserve System was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H1460 on March 2, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING KARMA GAETANO HADJIMICHALAKIS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Washington (Mrs. McMorris Rodgers) for 5 minutes.
Mrs. McMORRIS RODGERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise this morning to recognize Karma Hadjimichalakis.
Up until recently, Karma was the principal lecturer in business economics and finance at the University of Washington Foster School of Business. She was the faculty director of the Pacific Rim Bankers Program, and she was the Evert McCabe Faculty Fellow. She was also my professor while I was earning my Executive MBA.
Last Monday, February 21, Karma passed away after a long illness, and as her student, I wanted to acknowledge her incredible accomplishments, both professional and personal, over the course of an extraordinary life.
Born on January 21, 1944 in Utica, New York, Karma was educated at nearby Elmira College and earned master's and doctorate degrees at the University of Rochester. She joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1970, initially in the department of economics, and then at the Foster School of Business.
The turning point in her career was a 2-year stint as Visiting Economist at the Federal Reserve Board from 1980 to 1982. In her work with the banking section of the Fed's Division of Research and Statistics, Karma developed the ability to provide penetrating analysis that paints an accurate assessment of the current economic situation. In other words, she learned to find meaning in the disparate data.
Karma's time at the Fed also led her to realize that teaching was her true calling. She returned to the University of Washington with a new insider's expertise in the inner workings of the Federal Reserve System and monetary policy, and she spent the next 3 years applying her economic knowledge with wonderful results.
Karma won more than 45 major teaching awards at the Foster School, including the first PACCAR Award for Excellence in Teaching, the school's highest faculty honor. Her twice-annual economic forecast lectures became a standing-room-only tradition. And her 1995 textbook,
``Contemporary Money, Banking and Financial Markets: Theory and Practice,'' co-authored with her husband, Michael Hadjimichalakis, became an influential classic.
Former students universally spoke of themselves as ``privileged'' and
``blessed'' to have had the opportunity to study under Karma. They told of her ability to decipher data with real-life examples to make macroeconomics fascinating, even fun. They spoke of her profound impact on their lives. As one of Karma's students, class of 2002, I wanted to add my own testimony to her impact.
When I was a student, learning under an experienced and dedicated professor such as Karma was one of the best parts of the University of Washington's eMBA program. In all of her classes, Karma went above and beyond the call of duty, not just to present the course material, but to make herself available to us outside of the classroom, to answer our questions and ensure our understanding and application of the course work. She challenged my study of economics and how to craft successful public policies in a free market economy. Quite simply, they don't come any better.
I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing Karma Hadjimichalakis for her four decades of excellent teaching, communicating knowledge with absolute generosity, boundless energy, and endearing warmth. Karma's impact on thousands of students will endure for decades and in ways we will never completely know. And she will always have a special place in my heart.
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