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Trustee Scholar Patrick Zboray ’07 (Stratford, Conn.) was recently awarded a Junior Fellowship from the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
The fellowship will help Zboray continue research he has been conducting for his honors thesis with Ed Gamber, professor of economics and business. He is examining the reasons for the drop in the United States personal savings rate in the last 25 years. He is researching whether people really are saving less once the value of their assets, such as their home and stock portfolio, are taken into account.
“It is truly a great honor to be elected for this fellowship,” says Zboray, who is pursuing B.S. mathematics and an A.B. with a major in economics and business. “To be nominated and held in such high esteem by Lafayette professors is quite an honor and I hope to live up to it.”
Susan Averett, Dana Professor and head of economics and business, nominated Zboray with the encouragement of several colleagues.
“I [nominated Patrick] because he has shown himself to be an intellectually curious, serious student who is pursuing an honors thesis and has been an exceptional performer in the classroom,” says Averett. “He has also demonstrated an above average level of intellectual engagement in the discipline. He has impressed every professor he has had in the department.”
Zboray developed his thesis based on widely-held concerns that the national savings rate is too low, especially in relation to potential problems such as surging Social Security and Medicare payments to the Baby Boomer population and possible government debt issues.
“People are wondering if Americans are saving enough to deal with potential tax hikes in the future,” explains Zboray. “It is a pretty concerning and interesting question.”
The current savings rate measures the amount of money taken out of household income and invested for capital formation. This calculation does not include capital gains and losses, only the money a person initially invests. The last 15 years have seen a surge in the equity and real estate markets, indications that people have been making money on these investments even if they aren’t increasing their savings accounts.
“They are still technically saving, and the savings rate should reflect this,” Zboray says.
Averett believes the fellowship can only be positive for Zboray’s future endeavors.
“This honor, because Patrick did not seek it, will affirm for him the importance of hard work and dedication. We have around 100 majors every year and to be selected by your faculty members out of the group for this honor says a great deal about the quality of your contribution to the life of this department,” she says. “I believe that in the future, this will provide a measure of confidence in the value of hard work that will permeate all that Patrick does, whether it be in his professional life or in his personal life. To have independent confirmation of the value of one’s hard work is truly an affirmation of that work.
“I have had Patrick in class and it was a pleasure. He is one of those students who truly makes life in the department more interesting because of his willingness to engage in the study of economics and his enthusiasm for doing so.”
Zboray is a member of mathematics honor society Pi Mu Epsilon and economics honor society Omicron Delta Epsilon. He also is a member of Crew Club, Investment Club, and Newman Association.
Selected from among Lafayette’s top applicants, Trustee Scholars like Zboray have distinguished themselves through exceptional academic achievement in high school. Lafayette provides them with an annual minimum scholarship of $7,500 ($8,000 effective with the Class of 2009) or a grant in the full amount of their demonstrated need if the need is more than $7,500.
Honors theses are among several major programs that have made Lafayette a national leader in undergraduate research. The College sends one of the largest contingents to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research each year; 40 students were accepted to present their research at last year’s conference.
The American Academy of Political and Social Science was created in 1889 to promote the progress of the social sciences by offering a forum in which research on contemporary political, economic, and social issues could help inform public policy. The Annals, the Academy’s bimonthly journal, and the Academy’s annual meetings, symposia, and special publications have served as vehicles through which its objectives have been achieved for nearly 115 years.