Fonds 1408 - Susan Howson fonds

Susan Kyle Howson (née Finlay) was born on October 21, 1945 in London, England. Howson attended the London School of Economics (LSE) where she received a BA Honours (First Class) in Philosophy and Economics in 1967, followed by an MSc in Economics in 1969. Howson then attended the University of Cambridge and received an MA in 1974 and a PhD in Economics in 1975. Howson’s dissertation was entitled Domestic Monetary Management in Britain 1919-38.

In 1976 Howson joined the University of Toronto’s Scarborough College as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics. The following year Howson was given a permanent post at the U of T as an Assistant Professor, a title she held until 1979 when she became an Associate Professor of Economics.

While teaching at the U of T, Howson also took on appointments with the Bank of England’s International Division as a Research Economist (1979-1981), and served as an occasional lecturer at the LSE (1980-1981). From 1984-1985 Howson served as an Academic Visitor to Oxford University’s Nuffield College, which specializes in post-graduate research in social sciences, politics, and economics.

In 1988 Howson was granted the rank of full Professor at the University of Toronto. From 1995- 2002 she took on the role of Associate Dean (Division II) of the School of Graduate Studies followed by a lengthy spell as the Vice Dean of Undergraduate Education and Teaching, Faculty of Arts and Science (2002-2009). While at the U of T, Howson delivered regular courses on monetary theory, macroeconomic theory, and the history of international economy.

Throughout her academic career Howson published widely in journals such as the Economic History Review, the Journal of Economic History, History of Political Economy, the Journal of the History of Economic Thought, and the Economic Journal. Howson wrote extensively on British monetary policy in the 20th century, and British economists’ James Meade and Lionel Robbins, the latter for whom she wrote a comprehensive biography. Her writings and research on these topics led to her participation in countless global economic conferences and seminars.

Susan Howson retired from teaching in 2012 and remains a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Economics at the U of T.