Recipient of the 2015 Alumni Distinguished Leadership Award

As an economist at the World Bank, Dr. Gabriel Demombynes works on issues of poverty and inequality in developing countries. He is best known for his work arguing for the greater use of the scientific method in evaluating international development programs. Together with co-author Michael A. Clemens, he published a groundbreaking critique of the Millennium Villages Project, a high-profile rural development project implemented in several communities in sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Demombynes holds both a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a BA from the Plan II Liberal Arts Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin, as well as a PhD in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Leon Lederman, Gabriel Demombynes ’89, Jeffrey Truitt ’89, and Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall

Dr. Leon Lederman, Gabriel Demombynes ’89, Jeffrey Truitt ’89, and Dr. Stephanie Pace Marshall discuss the early years of IMSA and the charter class experience. Dr. Pace Marshall asks Demombynes and Truitt to reflect on why and how they decided to come to IMSA as members of the charter class. They remember arriving before the dorms were built and their first impressions. The charter class played a formative role in the school, including choosing the school mascot. It was voted on by the students, but Dr. Pace Marshall vetoed the choice because of concerns that it would be misread by the external community. They discuss what was unique about IMSA as an educational institution and how students learned - “the IMSA way”. Demombynes and Truitt also share their memories of working on the first student newspaper. Recorded at the 2009 Alumni Reunion by IMSA Media Services. Duration: 0:14:54 Photos available below.https://digitalcommons.imsa.edu/oral_histories/1003/thumbnail.jp