Simons maneuvered to hire Stigler and Friedman and curb Cowles Foundation influence.

Evidence

Simons had been urging the Economics Department to hire Stigler and Friedman since 1944: “Stigler and Hart we need now or very soon. Friedman should be ‘kept on the shelf,’ against the contingency of our having to replace Lange or Marschak, or against the possibility of Mr. Cowles offering funds for another major joint appointment” (SPRL, Simons to Leland, November 17, 1944, box 8, file 11). There is no evidence that Simons had the support of the Cowles Foundation in this plan. However, one letter suggests that Simons sought to diminish the influence of Cowles in the Economics Department. In August 1945, Simons writes: “If Lange is leaving, we should go after Milton Friedman immediately. It is a hard choice between Friedman and Stigler. We should tell the administration that we want them both.” (SPRL, Simons to Leland, August 20, 1945, box 8, file 9). — Philip Mirowski & Dieter Plehwe (eds.), The Road from Mont Pèlerin, 831

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the broader story of how the Chicago School strategically staffed its economics department against rival centers, a running theme in the reader’s framework of how the neoliberal network formed.