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Leon Cort Spotlight
“I am proud that today, Wentworth is seriously addressing issues of diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. I am proud that I work for a university that has supported me in my scholarly and pedagogical pursuits.”

What courses are you teaching?
I teach Third World Studies, International Politics, International Economics,The Global Economy, Macroeconomics, Microeconomics, and Principles of Economics.

How have your interests, research, or experience led you to your field?
Too many of the people I respected in my youth were teachers for me to have chosen any other vocation. The poverty and political violence I experienced in my own country— Guyana— were compelling reasons for my choice of economics and political science as the areas of my academic concentration. I am keenly interested in causes and solutions of global and regional poverty. I have taught and developed courses, given talks, and read papers on my own views about this topic. The failure to develop durable, as well as universally significant theories about poverty reduction, has forced me to look for solutions off the beaten track. Personally, I have found this most rewarding and in the courses I teach. I am humbly grateful that I share the need for a rethinking of global poverty with Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen, Abhijit Banerjee, and Esther Duflo.

What are you most proud of?
I am most proud of my tenure at Wentworth. I have worked under the leadership of four institute presidents. I owe much to my colleagues who helped me to make difficult, but needed adjustments as a person of color in a predominantly white institution. I am proud that today, Wentworth is seriously addressing issues of diversity, inclusivity, and social justice. I am proud that I work for a university that has supported me in my scholarly and pedagogical pursuits. I am proud of the students whose lives, and vocational choices I have played a small but gratifying role in shaping. I am most proud of the quality and dedication of our faculty, who have taught so many. This includes four of my own children, all of whom went on to competitive graduate schools and acquitted themselves creditably.

What is one interesting fact about you?
Apart from my love of teaching, one of my most thrilling passions is fighting against the raw strength of a giant tarpon somewhere off the coast of Florida.

Name one exciting thing that is happening in your classroom.
I am currently teaching Macroeconomics and Third World studies. The prevailing domestic and global socio-economic and political conditions are providing a trove of experiences that would be difficult to duplicate in the future. My students and I are exploring the uncomfortable fact that there are no easy solutions to the widening gap of poverty. Contrary to conventional thinking, institutions, appropriate incentives, and political order are key.

Share your favorite quote for Black History Month.
"I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand white supremacy, I can't stand imperial subjugation, I can't stand homophobia."  -Cornel West

List of recent publications and other accomplishments (2019 - 2021):

I was the first recipient of Wentworth's UMOJA Award (2019) and I received the NSBE Boston Professionals STEM ADVOCATE Award (2020).