Neil Skaggs arrived on the Illinois State campus in 1979 after completing a doctorate in economics at Duke University. At the time, he was searching for his first faculty position. Skaggs chose ISU based on the quality of the Department of Economics. The University became his professional home, as he remained on faculty until his retirement in 2010.
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Skaggs developed an expertise in the areas of monetary theory, money and banking, and public choice. He enjoyed a teaching load covering those subjects in classes of graduate, undergraduate, and Honors students. He also taught Principles of Economics, Intermediate Macroeconomics, and History of Economic Thought.
His research specialty is the history of monetary economics. His work has appeared in the History of Political Economy, Southern Economic Journal and Canadian Journal of Economics. He has also published numerous journal articles on the development of British monetary theory and policy in the 19th century. In addition, Skaggs co-authored a Principles of Economics textbook while with the department.
On campus, Skaggs was active as chair of the ISU Credit Union board for three years and was also vocal in leading a resistance to faculty unionization. He served as an administrator as well, taking on the interim duties of department chair for economics, psychology and chemistry.
Beyond the classroom, Skaggs was very involved in the Christian Collegians campus ministry for many years and remained an avid fan of Redbird basketball. He also spent two semesters teaching as part of ISU’s study abroad program in Salzburg, Austria.
Travel remains one retirement pleasure for Skaggs and his wife, Barb, who continue to make Bloomington-Normal their home. The two have four adult daughters and especially enjoy spending time with their five grandchildren. Skaggs has remained active, continuing to enjoy running, pursuing scholarly projects and staying involved with ISU’s Campus Christian Faculty.
He can be reached at ntskaggs@IllinoisState.edu.
