After 51 years of teaching economics at the University of Kansas, Professor Harry Shaffer decided to take a leave of absence this semester because of recent health problems. Shaffer is 89 years old and has been teaching economics for the past 60 years.

He was born in 1919 to a Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, and moved to Havana, Cuba, in 1938 to avoid the Nazi regime. After two years of hiding in Cuba, Harry came to the United States.

Shaffer taught at the University of Alabama for six years before joining the Economics Department at the University of Kansas. He has published 11 books, one of which is a required text for Economics 104 at the University.

The beloved professor recently took time to chat with Jayplay about his life and his passion for economics.

Q: What was it like leaving Vienna when the Nazis invaded in 1938?

A: When the Nazis came, my mother knew that we had to leave immediately. My other family members didn’t think it was going to be as serious as it was. I left and went to Italy to live with my father. I remember my passport had a huge Jewish star on it. When Mussolini and Hitler got together, I fled to Paris. Then I got a Visa and moved to Havana where my mother and sister were hiding.

Q: When did you come to the United States?

A: I came to the U.S. in 1940 and served in intelligence for the U.S. army. After breaking my collarbone in a serious car accident, I was discharged after only a year and a half. I went on to get my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in economics at NYU.

Q: You decided to resign from the University of Alabama. Why?

A: In 1956, a girl by the name of Autherine Lucy was the first black woman to be admitted to the University of Alabama. About 3,000 students protested this admittance and threw rocks at Lucy. The University expelled her on charges of defamation after she claimed the University did not provide her with adequate protection. After the University did nothing to help her, I felt I could no longer be honorably associated with the school.

Q: How did you meet your wife, Betty?

A: We call it our story. It’s a very famous story. I was going to Boston to give a talk at Harvard University and I was stuck in New York because of a horrible snowstorm. Betty was also trying to go to Boston to visit her son who was a student at Harvard. She was stuck in New York, too. We ended up both taking the same train to Boston, and the rest is history.

Q: Any funny moments with students?

A: I get these really funny evaluations some years. One said, “Ah, Harry. It was fun, you old-timer. You took me on a wild ride. Things got a little crazy, but I don’t regret a thing.” Another said something like, “I think I may be in love with Harry. Call me you sexy beast, you.”

Q: What do you think about the economic crisis that we’re in now?

A: I think the government has to do something. I would say use less tax rebates for the wealthy and more tax rebates for the people who are less fortunate. If that makes me liberal, so have it.

Q: Does it feel weird not to be teaching?

A: I’ve been an economics professor for 60 years. I would love to teach right now, but it would be hard to teach 500 students while on oxygen. I want to get better so I can come back.