William L. Monroe funds endowed economics scholarship

Economics studentsWestern Michigan University annually recognizes the top overall student in each academic department during the Presidential Scholar Convocation. Each year, faculty members from across the University select the most outstanding senior in their various academic schools, departments and programs to represent their units as a WMU Presidential Scholar. The Presidential Scholar designation is the highest academic honor that WMU can bestow on its undergraduates. Selection is based on the students’ general academic excellence, academic and artistic excellence relative to their majors, and intellectual and artistic promise.

The William L. Monroe Scholarship is a merit-based award given to students vying for the Presidential Scholar in the Department of Economics. It is named in honor of 2015 Economics Alumni Achievement recipient William Monroe, who earned a bachelor’s degree in 1963 and, in 1964, became one of the first two students to earn a Master of Arts degree in economics from WMU. The student recipient(s), known as Monroe Scholar(s), are encouraged to carry on the tradition of excellence set forth by Monroe.

After graduation, Monroe launched a 40-year career in labor economics, labor relations and human resources management. He was initially hired in 1965 by Chrysler Corporation in Detroit as an economic analyst and subsequently held several human resource management positions. In 1981, he joined W.R. Grace & Co. as a vice president of the company’s corporate administration group and served as director of employee benefits. He was elected an executive officer of the company in 1987 and served for 14 years as vice president of human resources until his retirement in 2001.

Among Monroe’s notable business accomplishments is his recognition in the early 1980s as the pioneering architect of the first savings/profit sharing plan to be implemented at a major U.S. company incorporating pre-tax savings as permitted by Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Under his guidance, Grace launched a full-service combined pre-tax and post-tax savings plan merging 63 independent payroll systems in 1983. At Chrysler, among his notable achievements, were his extensive economic negotiations with the United Auto Workers union featuring the first “30 and out Pension Agreement,” the “US and Canada Production and Wage Parity Agreement” and the related auto industry developed “Combined US and Canada Consumer Price Index.”

During his career, Monroe was a member of the Board of Trustees of the Council on Employee Benefits for over 12 years and served as president during 1995 and 1996. In 1988, he was appointed by the Secretary of Labor to the Business Research Advisory Council to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics where he served as a member for over 10 years. He is also a former board member of the Human Resources Policy Institute at Boston University. From 1986 to 1988, he served on the Corporate Board of Directors of the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.