UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 17, Page 5
January 23, 1992
Globetrotting professor exports American economics

     Economics, American-style, is an important export and much in
demand as countries all over the world are in the process of
restructuring their economic and political systems.
     University of Delaware professor of economics Burt Abrams is
an ambassador of goodwill and economic education, visiting and
teaching in faraway places, from Bulgaria to China to New Zealand,
all in a year's time. Currently, he and a group of 12 students are
in China--the first such trip from Delaware.
     A strong believer in the importance of international
education, Abrams practices what he preaches.
     "The world is shrinking and becoming more interdependent, and
it is vital that students have international experiences and
understand the importance of international trade and cooperation,"
he said.
     Abrams was in Bulgaria for five months, returning to Newark in
December. He taught at the University of Economics at Varna for two
months, followed by three months at the University of Sofia.
     The University of Delaware was well-represented in Bulgaria,
thanks to a $1.5 million grant received by the Office of
International Programs and Special Sessions from the U.S. Agency
for International Development. In addition to Abrams, Jeffrey
Miller and Kenneth Koford, both associate professors of economics,
and Carla Stone, lecturer from international programs and special
sessions, also taught there. William Latham, chairperson of
economics, is teaching there now.
     Courses in business English were taught by the University's
English Language Institute by a team including Scott Stevens,
director, and Sandra McCollum and Vanya Hristova, both instructors.
     In general, according to Abrams, the students he taught in
Bulgaria were mature and from middle management--government
officials, managers and journalists--who continued to work while
attending school, although he did teach some undergraduates at the
University of Sofia. At Varna, his lectures were simultaneously
translated into Bulgarian and beamed into other classrooms via
television.
     Abrams described Bulgaria as a country emerging from a central
to a market economy. "The country has been impoverished by
communism," he said," and both natural and human resources have
been wasted. The Bulgarians are eager for modernization and wish
for personal freedom and greater economic affluence. Unlike the
Chinese, they know what is going on in the world and the West and
wish to become a part of it."
     Bulgarian students will come to Delaware during spring
semester funded by the federal grant. These students, who are
professionals in the hotel, banking and industry areas, will have
a work/study experience with internships in local firms. Two
graduate students, Tatiana Kostova and Stoyan Tenev, are now
studying at the University.
     The globetrotting professor is off again and has taken a group
of 12 Delaware students to Nankai University in Tiangin during
Winter Session.
     Abrams was a Fulbright fellow at Nankai in 1985-86, returning
as a visiting professor in 1989 to a campus that was restless and
on strike. The university closed down, and Abrams left the country
from Beijing the day the tanks rolled into the city.
     As he left Tiananmen Square that day, he was faced with lines
of soldiers with their rifles at the ready. "It was nerve-
wracking, but I did not feel in any danger," he recalled.
"Foreigners are relatively safe in China and I was not challenged.
The soldiers were there to prevent any students from leaving."
     Abrams has observed many changes in China since his first
visit. "Although China now is ruled with an iron fist, there is
more economic freedom, especially in agriculture, where there are
incentives. The Chinese have been given more economic freedom
without political freedom," Abrams said. "This Winter Session
course, the first given in China, will give our students an
outstanding opportunity to visit a large, totalitarian country that
is a long way from democracy."
     The Delaware students are being housed in residence halls for
foreign students and are taking courses taught by Nankai faculty on
Chinese history and culture, economic reform and policy in China,
plus a course in conversational Chinese. They are scheduled to tour
Beijing and other parts of the country.
     From China, Abrams heads down under to the University of
Adelaide in South Australia, where he will teach money and banking,
and macro-economics. In an informal exchange, a professor from
Adelaide will teach at Delaware in 1992.
     Abrams says he is a late starter when it comes to
international travel as he had not been overseas until he was in
his mid-30s. Now, he is more than making up for lost time.
                                        - Sue Swyers Moncure