News

Paul Huber, a retired member of the Economics Department, passed away peacefully in the Halifax Infirmary, QEII, on June 24, 2021, after a brief illness. He was 86.

Paul was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University. Paul started teaching at Dalhousie in 1965 and taught international trade and international finance. He was part of an expansion of the Department that started in the mid-1960s that led, in part, to the start of a PhD program, which admitted its first students in 1968-69. He was Graduate Coordinator in the Department when the PhD program started and played an instrumental role in its design and formation. He also introduced a thesis seminar for MA students, which he taught for several years, during which time he could often be seen with his faithful Bassett hound Susan, in his office and even his lectures.

Paul was also the driving force behind the introduction of the so-called Comprehensive Integrated Program which allowed majors in economics to take a cohesive package of modules for credit while exposing them to more subject areas of economics than a set of individual courses of equal credit. For a long time, Paul taught a course in European Economic History, a course he was still teaching when he retired and continued to teach it post-retirement.

Paul firmly anchored his ideas and professional work to strongly felt ethical principles. This was clearly demonstrated in his commitment to the students he taught and his research and publications. He took on the job of Project Director for a public service training program the Department started in Nepal in the late 1980s and into the 1990s. When he initially visited Nepal, he was greeted by an earthquake.  Over time, he became very attached to Nepal and to the people there.

Paul was an avid music lover, especially of opera. He was a long-time member of the Gilbert and Sullivan Society in Halifax and appeared in many of their productions. He would often burst out in song as he was walking through the halls of the Economics Department and sometimes, even in his classrooms.

His obituary can be found at https://www.saltwire.com/halifax/obituaries/paul-bickford-huber-57593/