We are sad to relay news of the passing of our friend and colleague, Emeritus Professor Harry H. Kelejian. After earning his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1968, Harry Kelejian embarked on a distinguished academic career with great accomplishments. Subsequent to holding positions as an Assistant Professor at Princeton University and as an Associate Professor at New York University, he joined the Department of Economics at the University of Maryland as a Full Professor in 1974. Harry Kelejian greatly contributed to the success of the Department for more than three decades with his influential research, teaching, and service. He retired in 2008 and was awarded the status of Professor Emeritus. He maintained an active research agenda during all of his retirement. 

Harry Kelejian worked on a broad range of research topics in theoretical and applied econometrics. For the last three decades his work has focused on spatial and social network econometrics. He was among those econometricians who very early on recognized the importance of developing methods of inference for networks, and he shaped this developing interdisciplinary field with fundamental contributions. Over his career Harry Kelejian published over eighty articles. This includes six articles in Econometrica, seven in the Journal of Econometrics, two in the Journal of the American Statistical Association, four in the International Economic Review, as well articles in other leading journals which include the Review of Economic Studies, etc.  Harry Kelejian also published two textbooks, one of which was translated into three languages. His contributions have received more than 14000 citations, including two articles receiving more than 2000 citations, which attests to the importance and influence of his work. Harry Kelejian also served on a number of editorial boards of important journals and as guest editor of several volumes.

In recognition of his contribution to spatial econometrics Harry Kelejian was invited to be one of the founding members of the Spatial Econometric Association, and he was elected as a Fellow of the Regional Science Association International. Harry Kelejian has been a visiting professor at several universities and academic institutions abroad and a keynote speaker at international conferences, which further attests to his international visibility.

At the University of Maryland Harry Kelejian taught mostly graduate econometrics courses. He was a dedicated teacher, winning several teaching awards. Throughout his career he was also a dedicated Ph.D. advisor. At the University of Maryland he supervised 6 dissertations as the main advisor, and was an important advisor on a number of other dissertations.  At Princeton Harry Kelejian was the second reader on the dissertation committee of James Heckman, who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2000. In an interview James Heckman states that “Kelejian taught me a lot of econometrics”. Harry Kelejian was also a fun and considerate colleague, and especially appreciated as an influential and very generous mentor and friend to the junior colleagues in his field.

Any former students and faculty who would like to know more about events to honor
Harry Kelejian should write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..