Former professor and noted economist Michael Intriligator dies at 76

Michael Intriligator, a noted UCLA economics and public policy professor emeritus who helped build the UCLA Burkle Center for International Relations during his career, died on June 23 after a long battle with leukemia. He was 76 years old.

Intriligator came to UCLA in 1963 as a member of the economics department, but colleagues said his intellectual curiosity led him to use economic ideas in a number of different fields.

His friends and family remember him for his willingness to engage with new people and the lessons he imparted to them.

“It’s not every day you find someone who is really smart, knows his stuff, has strong opinions and still has a warm and gentle heart,” said Skip Rimer, the executive director of events at the Milken Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Santa Monica, where Intriligator worked for more than 10 years. “He was a gentle soul that was truly interested in life.”

John Riley, a UCLA professor of economics, said he recalls going into his friend’s office and not being able to see Intriligator through the collection of research, reports and books stacked high on his desk.

“Most people spend their entire careers mining the same place for gold,” Riley said. “Mike would be out roaming, looking for new gold fields.”

Intriligator’s wide-ranging interests manifested themselves in many forms.

He played a major role in establishing the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, helping to develop its curriculum and recruit faculty. He also served as the director of the UCLA Center for International and Strategic Affairs, the precursor to the Burkle Center.

Intriligator’s influence as an educator is still felt within the economics field though his textbook, “Mathematical Optimization and Economic Theory,” Riley said.

First published in 1971, it communicated complex mathematical ideas in a way that was accessible to a larger audience, he added.

“Most things in economics last five years, but this book has lasted more than 40,” Riley said. “All these years later it is still an achievement in education.”

Venturing beyond standard economic study, Intriligator published dozens of papers in fields such as health care reform, international relations and nuclear proliferation.

He also contributed pieces to publications across the country, including the New York Times and the Huffington Post.

Rimer said Intriligator’s family is a testament to the kind of person and father he was.

Robert Intriligator, the youngest of Michael Intriligator’s four sons, said even though his father made his name as an economist, he would tell others that his true passion was music.

He said his father would always have a cassette tape on hand and would make personalized tapes as gifts for family and friends.

Kenneth Intriligator, Michael Intriligator’s eldest son, said his father also made it a point to immerse him and his brothers in nature.

He said his dad would often rush back from work when Kenneth Intriligator was young to take his family to watch the sunset at the park by their home.

After his retirement in 1994, Intriligator remained active in the institutions he helped mold.

He served as director of the Burkle Center from 2000 to 2002 and was also a member of various think tanks, including the Council on Foreign Relations, based in New York, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, based in the United Kingdom.

Additionally, Intriligator was the only American economist to be elected as a foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, colleagues said Intriligator made efforts to bring Russian speakers and academics to UCLA in the spirit of collaboration and forgiveness.

Robert Intriligator said his father tried instilling in him and his brothers the lesson of forgiveness as a path to peace, be it in the family or in the world.

“One of his maxims was, ‘Let it roll off your back like water off a duck’s back,’” Robert Intriligator said, laughing.

A memorial service for Intriligator was held on Thursday at the Wilshire Boulevard Temple. Intriligator is survived by his wife Devrie and their sons Kenneth, James, William and Robert.

Contributing reports by Samantha Tomilowitz, Bruin senior staff.