BOSTON, September 6, 2005 -- Harvard University Professor Michael E. Porter, the world’s leading authority on the competitive strategy of companies and countries, has been honored as the recipient of the 2005 John Kenneth Galbraith Medal by the American Agricultural Economics Association (AAEA), a professional society whose mission is to enhance the skills, knowledge, and professional contributions of those economists who serve society in solving problems related to agriculture, food, resources and economic development.

Established in 2003, the John Kenneth Galbraith Medal is presented annually to an individual whose writings and contributions to policymaking have changed the way people think and governments operate. It recognizes scholars whose work and writing affect policy and public thinking in issues concerning agriculture, development, economics, and business. Nobel Laureate Joseph Stiglitz was the first honoree in 2004.

The 2005 medal recognizes Porter’s “ breakthrough discoveries in economics and outstanding contributions to humanity through leadership, research, and service” Porter is the author of a number of seminal books and articles on competitiveness, including Competitive Advantage, Competitive Strategy, and The Competitive Advantage of Nations. He has also published influential work on philanthropy, the environment, and the economic role of the inner city.

Porter is Harvard’s Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, based at Harvard Business School. A University Professorship is the highest professional recognition that can be awarded to a scholar at Harvard. They recognize accomplishments and impact that transcends individual schools or departments.

Porter heads the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness (ISC), a joint creation of Harvard University and Harvard Business School to further his extensive research. Among his other duties, he teaches a unique University-wide course on competitiveness and economic development that is also taught at 56 other universities around the world using materials, video content, and faculty training provided by Porter and his ISC colleagues.

A 1969 graduate of Princeton University in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Porter earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1971 and a Ph.D. in business economics from Harvard University in 1973.

For further information on Professor Porter’s work, see the Institute’s website: www.isc.hbs.edu.

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