Preliminary Inventory of the Robert Eggert Papers

Collection

Identifier: 2009-04337-2010-04388

Scope and Content Note

This collection houses correspondence, reports, office files, studies, publications, newsclippings, and other materials documenting Robert J. Eggert's career as an economist and economic forecaster. This collection has not been processed in full and can be viewed only by appointment. Contact Archives and Special Collections for more information.

Dates

Creation: 1955-2009

Creator

Eggert, Robert (Robert John), 1913-2007 (Person)

Language of Materials

Material in English

Access Restrictions

To view this collection, make an appointment at least five business days prior to your visit by contacting Ask an Archivist. Appointments in the Wurzburger Reading Room at Hayden Library (rm. 138) on the Tempe campus are available Tuesday through Thursday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Check the ASU Library Hours page for current availability.

Copyright

The Arizona Board of Regents retains copyright to this collection for and on behalf of the Arizona State University Library. Requests to publish, display, or redistribute information from this collection must be submitted via our online application.

Biographical Note

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Robert John Eggert was born to John and Eleanora (Fritz) Lapp Eggert in Little Rock, Arkansas on December 11, 1913. He earned his B.S. (1935) and M.S. (1936) from the University of Illinois, his LHD from Arizona State University (1988), and an honorary degree from Lincoln College (2002). Eggert married Elizabeth Bauer (1914-1991) on November 28, 1935 and the couple had three sons: Robert John, Richard F., and James E. Eggert married Annamarie Hayes (1926-) on March 19, 1994. He is best known for developing consensus forecasting, which made him one of the best known tabulators in the world.

Eggert began his career as a Research Analyst and worked for the Bureau of Agriculture in Chicago (1935), the University of Illinois (1935-1936), and the University of Minnesota (1936-1938) before becoming an Assistant Professor of Economics at Kansas State College (1938-1941). He returned to Chicago in 1941, where he worked for the War Meat Board (1942-1945) and the American Meat Institute (1941-1950) in addition to lecturing at the University of Chicago (1947-1949). In 1951, Eggert began working in marketing and research at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan. He is credited with naming the company's famous Mustang.

Eggert stayed with Ford until 1967. He went on to found and direct the first agribusiness programs at the University of Michigan (1967-1968) and to work as staff Vice President for Economic and Marketing Research for the RCA Corporation in New York City (1968-1976). Eggert came to Arizona in 1976, where he founded Eggert Economic Enterprises, Inc. in Sedona (1976-), served as an Adjutant Professor of Business Forecasting at Northern Arizona University (1976-1979), and worked as Interim Director of Arizona State University's Economic Outlook Center at the College of Business Administration (1985-1986).

During his career, Eggert served on a number of panels and advisory committees, including the Federal Statistics Users Conference (Chairman, 1960-1961), the Economic Advisory Board of the U.S. Department of Commerce (1969-1971), the Census Advisory Committee (1975-1978), the Panel of Economic Advisors to the Congressional Budget Office (1975-1976), the Economic Estimates Commission (1979-2003), the Arizona Governor's Council on Economic Development (1991-1995), the Marcus J. Lawrence Medical Center Foundation (Trustee, 1992-1996), and the Arizona State Retirement System's Investment Advisory Council (Vice Chairman, 1993-1998). Eggert died in Cottonwood, Arizona on November 16, 2007 at the age of 93.