Much-beloved professor of economics Alex Kondonassis will celebrate his retirement from a 50-year career at the University of Oklahoma at a reception scheduled from 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1, in the University Club in Oklahoma Memorial Union, 900 Asp Ave.

Kondonassis joined the faculty at OU in 1958, having started his journey in his native Greece at the University of Athens, followed by completion of his undergraduate degree from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Indiana in Bloomington, where he stayed on as a faculty member.  At the invitation of Paul Brinker, then-chair of the Economics Department, Kondonassis came to OU.

Through the years, he has received many accolades, including a Fulbright Professorship at the Athens School of Economics and a visiting professorship at Oxford University in England. From OU, he has received a Regents’ Award for Superior Teaching and was named a Regents’ Professor of Economics and a David Ross Boyd Professor of Economics. He also was named as an Outstanding Educator of America and was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame. May 17, 2005, was declared “Alex Kondonassis Day” to recognize his contributions to the economic development of the state of Oklahoma.

Former students of Kondonassis’ include former U.S. House of Representatives majority leader Kick Armey; Philip Wu, a veteran banker in Hong Kong; Pat Choate, Ross Perot’s vice presidential running mate in 1996; and numerous other professors and deans of colleges.

Kondonassis also has been active in teaching oversees through the OU OUTREACH program.  He developed the accelerated master’s degree in economics through the Advanced Program in Economics in 1968 and has been an active educator to the military students enrolled in the program to this day.

The reception, which is open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m., with comments beginning at 4:30 p.m.  Scheduled speakers include OU Vice Provost for Instruction and Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Paul B. Bell Jr.; Dean of the College of Liberal Studies James Pappas; and Tade Okediji, visiting associate professor of economics at the University of Minnesota.

For more information or accommodations on the basis of disability, contact the department at (405) 325-2861.