Jules Backman, economist, author, and educator, was born in New York, NY on May 3, 1910. After attending high school in Brooklyn, he enrolled in NYU, where he would earn four degrees -- Bachelor of Commercial Science (1931), Master of Arts from the School of Education (1932), Master of Business Administration (1933), and Doctor of Commercial Science (1935). Three years after earning his PhD, Backman became an instructor in economics at NYU. He continued to serve on the faculties of the School of Commerce/College of Business Administration (now the Leonard N. Stern School of Business) from 1938 to 1975. As Professor Emeritus he continued to teach in an adjunct capacity.

Backman served as a consultant to major trade associations and corporations, particularly in steel, railroads, and retailing. He published widely on the subject of pricing. His books include Adventures in Price Fixing (1936), Administered Prices (1957), and Entrepreneurship and the Outlook for America (published posthumously in 1983).

Backman was also an active participant in the public sector. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt named him to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He worked in the Office of Price Administration in the early 1940s and was an adviser to the President's Cost of Living Committee. Subsequently, he served on state and local advisory groups, including the Governor's Commission on Milk Marketing, the New York Joint Legislative Committee on Rents, and as consultant to the U.S. General Accounting Office and the New Jersey Rate Counsel.

The founding president of the New York University Club, Backman made major contributions to NYU for both scholarships and capital improvements. He was active in Jewish community service as chairman of the Reform Jewish Appeal from 1966 to 1969 and chairman of the Board of Governors of Hebrew Union College/Jewish Institute of Religion from 1976 until his death in 1982.

Sources:

Backman, Jules, Biographical File, NYU Archives