Hal Varian, the chief economist for Google, will be the guest speaker for the Oct. 10 George Slape Public Lecture, hosted by the University of Oregon's Department of Economics. The lecture will be at 7 p.m. in Room 123 of the UO’s Global Scholars Hall.

Varian began his work with Google in May 2002 as a consultant and has been involved in many facets of the company over the years – including econometrics, finance, auction design, corporate strategy and public policy.

He received his bachelor’s degree from MIT in 1969 and his master’s degree and doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1973. He is also an emeritus professor in business, economics and information management at UC-Berkeley.

Varian has published numerous papers in economic theory, econometrics, public finance, industrial organization and the economics of information technology.

The George Slape Public Lecture series is funded largely by alumni donations, with special thanks this year to a donation from George Slape. It allows the UO Economics Department to invite well-known economists to share in-depth presentations of their research with students, faculty, staff and the public.

In addition to an inside look into the work of top economists, the series features a day of one-on-one meetings between guest lecturers and UO economics faculty members and graduate students.

The lecture will be open to the public and free of cost.

- by Sarah MacKenzie, UO Office of Strategic Communications intern