Dr. Richard E. Hattwick
(Posted in May, 2005)

Dr. Hattwick is a co-founder of the American National Business Hall of Fame and the Illinois Business Hall of Fame. Both halls were originally founded as an outreach effort of Western Illinois University’s Center for Business and Economic Research. Dr. Hattwick was director of that center for twenty-three years (1969 -1992). Dr. Hattwick served as president of both halls of fame from the date of their founding through 2005. The two halls were initially supported by the center’s budget and the volunteer labor of the board members from the various participating universities. Dr. Hattwick was responsible for developing and delivering most of the halls’ educational programs during his years at Western Illinois University. He retired from the University in 2002.

Dr. Hattwick also founded The Journal of Socio-Economics (JSE). This interdisciplinary journal was inaugurated in 1971 and was originally known as The Journal of Behavioral Economics). The JSE was sold to Elsevier in 2000 and the proceeds of the sale became an endowment at Western Illinois University. A testimonial summary of Dr. Hattwick’s years as JBE/JSE editor will be found in the sixth issue of the JSE in 2001. The journal (JBE/JSE) played a significant role in the early development of both the Society for the Advancement of Behavioral Economics (SABE) and the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics (SASE) and Dr. Hattwick was active in both organizations. Dr. Hattwick’s late career thoughts on the future of socio-economics was published in Volume 28, Number 4 (1999) of the JSE under the title “The Future Paradigm of Socio-Economics: Three Visions and a Call for Papers.”

Dr. Hattwick was born in Evanston, Illinois on January 22, 1938. His parents were Dr. Melvin Hattwick, a prominent American advertising executive and Dr.LaBerta Hattwick, a child psychologist. Dr. Hattwick earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at Ohio Wesleyan University and his Ph.D. in economics from Vanderbilt University. He held faculty positions in the departments of economics at the University of Houston and Western Illinois University. One of his personal joys was his good fortune at being a member of the “founding faculty” in the College of Business at Western Illinois University.

As a result of his position as director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Western Illinois University, Dr. Hattwick was active in community affairs for most of his adult life. He served on the boards of the Macomb area chamber of commerce, police pension board, public housing authority, Boy Scout District Committee, and Wesley Village retirement home. He was an active member of his local Rotary club and served as District Governor in 2000-2001 and National Literacy Director in 2005-2006.

In 1963 Dr. Hattwick married Maria de Nazareth Toledo Lobato of Sao Paulo, Brazil. The couple has two adult children, Patricia and Philip.