Paul R. Portney, new RFF president, and Robert W. Fri, outgoing president.
On October 13, RFF's board of directors completed a six-month, nationwide search by appointing Paul R. Portney to be RFF's new president. Portney replaces Robert W. Fri, who announced his intention to step down as president last April.
In announcing Portney's appointment, Darius W. Gaskins Jr., chair of the RFF board, said, "We are delighted with Paul's appointment. He is a proven scholar with an exceptional gift for applying sound research findings to complex public policy problems."
Portney first came to RFF in 1972. He has been serving as vice president since 1989. Before that, he served as director of the Quality of the Environment Division (1986–87) and as the first director of the Center for Risk Management (1987–89). While on leave from RFF during 1979–80, he served as the chief economist for the Council on Environmental Quality in the Executive Office of the President. He also has been a visiting lecturer at both Princeton University and University of California–Berkeley.
Portney received his B.A. in economics and mathematics from Alma College and his Ph.D. in economics from Northwestern University. He has served on the Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology of the National Academy of Sciences and on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Panel on Contingent Valuation. He is currently a member of the Executive Committee of the Science Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, as well as chair of its Environmental Economics Advisory Committee. He is the author of many journal articles and books; noteworthy among these, he edited Public Policies for Environmental Protection and coauthored Footing the Bill for Superfund Cleanups: Who Pays and How?, both published by RFF.
Portney assumed the presidency immediately. "I am honored by the board's decision," he said, "and I am grateful to Bob Fri for leaving me such a healthy organization. I am thrilled about the prospect of leading RFF into the next century."
Fri had been RFF's president since 1986. His career spans government, business, and nonprofit positions. He was the first deputy administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1971–73) and held the same position in the Energy Research and Development Administration, the precursor to the Department of Energy (1975–77). He also served for extended periods as acting head of both agencies.
During Fri's tenure as RFF president, the Center for Risk Management was established, a strategy to recruit young researchers was put in place, and the criteria for evaluating and promoting researchers were overhauled. In addition, RFF launched a program to encourage individual giving.
Fri will remain with RFF as a senior fellow and a member of the RFF Corporation.
A version of this article appeared in print in the October 1995 issue of Resources magazine.
A version of this article appeared in print in the October 1995 issue of Resources magazine.
