Professor John D. Graham at the Paul H. O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs is receiving accolades this month from the Society of Benefit-Cost Analysis and the National Debate Tournament for his lifetime achievements.
Graham will be recognized as an honorary fellow by the SBCA in Washington, D.C., March 10 for making substantial contributions to the theory or practice of benefit-cost analysis.
“I’m very honored to receive the Society’s recognition for my decades of labor in the field of benefit-cost analysis,” Graham said. “I appreciate the encouragement I received over the years from faculty at Wake Forest, Duke, and Carnegie-Mellon, as well as collaborators at Harvard and officials in the federal government who taught me the real-world of benefit-cost analysis in the federal government.”
Graham has long used benefit-cost analysis in his research. Starting during his undergraduate years at Wake Forest, he used it to analyze the then-maximum 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. As a graduate student at Duke, he used the practice to research underinvestment in lifesaving programs for young people, and his dissertation compared the benefits and costs of the automobile airbag mandate. His work was cited by the United States Supreme Court during its case deciding the legality of the mandate.
In late March, Graham will receive the Laurence Tribe Outstanding Alumni Award of the National Debate Tournament. Graham qualified for three National Debate Tournaments during his undergraduate years, but the award recognizes his post-debate accomplishments, including his time at Harvard where he established the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis, his work with the federal Office of Management and Budget, and his service as dean of the O’Neill School.
“Both of these honors are meaningful to me because they recognize not just a moment in time but a lifetime of work,” Graham said. “I’m truly honored to receive the recognition of two amazing organizations that have helped shape my career and my work.”
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