鶹Ƶ economics professor and alumnus, BS Economics ’83, has been named one of in philanthropy.
Cowen is being recognized for his leadership of, a fellowship and grant program, housed at George 鶹Ƶ’s Mercatus Center, that backs entrepreneurial thinkers and doers with extraordinary potential. Since its launch, Emergent Ventures has funded more than 1,000 individuals around the world who are advancing work across a wide array of fields, including science, policy, and journalism.
“I’ve focused on trying to mobilize talent that otherwise is not discovered or inspired,” Cowen told TIME, explaining that he screens most of the applications himself.
Emergent Ventures’ successes include funding one of the first COVID-19 saliva tests via its program and a prison reform that used data analysis to identify more than 150,000 safe candidates for early release.
“Tyler's vision for Emergent Ventures is to do philanthropy differently,” said Economics Department chair Daniel Houser. “He created a highly effective and influential approach to broad-based giving that includes rapid decisions and taking an occasional risk. Tyler supports leading established scholars and also helps to develop prodigies at earlier stages of their career, sometimes as early as high school.”
Cowen, who has led Emergent Ventures since 2018, is the director of the Mercatus Center and a faculty member of the Economics Department’s The Center for Study of Public Choice. A nationally renowned economist, he is a columnist for The Free Press and contributes daily to the Marginal Revolution blog.
Responding to the honor,, “It is the Emergent Ventures winners who deserve the real credit, thanks to them!”
The inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list recognizes 100 individuals who are reimagining the ways giving can drive meaningful change. Philanthropists from 28 countries made the list, including Warren Buffet, Michael Bloomberg, and Oprah Winfrey. Cowen was recognized in the innovators category along with Catherine, Princess of Wales; skateboarder Tony Hawk; and actor Michael Sheen.
The full list is available at. Read more about Cowen’s work with Emergent Ventures.