Teacher to the world

One day recently Charlie Cetin, a Citigroup investment banker from London, told a group of Minnesota business students at his alma mater how he, a 1998 graduate, and his team had sold the Turkish government's stake in an oil refinery to private operators.

This must have been the University of Minnesota or St. Thomas, Minnesota's biggest business schools, right?

Nah -- try Macalester College in St. Paul.

At a school that gets most of its reputation for liberal arts, to say nothing of student activism, Macalester's small economics department will graduate 60 students this week, most of whom already have jobs that will pay entry-level salaries of $45,000 to $65,000, plus bonuses.

Did I say worldly?

At Macalester, half of the economics students hail from Armenia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Shanghai, Bulgaria and other foreign shores, under a long-standing global outreach and scholarship program that has attracted working-class-to-affluent kids from 80 countries.

"We have learned so much from each other," said Astghik Poladyan, a graduate from Armenia who interned last summer in the tax department at 3M and who is headed to a corporate finance job at J.P. Morgan in San Francisco.

Brendan Bosman of Minneapolis and Terrence Robinson-Wilson of Chicago -- both Mac basketball players who are headed for out-of-town banking jobs -- nodded in agreement.

"I've learned about capital markets and financial instruments," said Niranjan Arulpragasam, headed to Merrill Lynch in New York. "I live for the day when I can go home and help develop the capital markets of Sri Lanka."

When Mac business graduates talk about the professor who links students with an extensive graduate network and an enthusiasm that transcends the campus, they talk about economics professor Karl Egge.

Egge, an enthusiastically young 62, is calling it a career after 35 years at Mac. The career educator still plans to teach a course or two a year and continue his networking on behalf of students and alumni.

Egge was not very career-oriented himself. But he came under the wing of an economist who recommended him for graduate school at Ohio State University after Egge graduated from the University of Montana in 1965.

"Professors are somewhat narrow," Egge said. "They usually know what they do. So I went from college to graduate school. I never knew I wanted to be a college professor. But I kind of liked it."

Egge said he encourages his students "to get experience before they go to graduate school. A lot of these kids are going to be working their fannies off for a few years. And some will make more than their parents ever dreamed."

Egge, who hails from a family that was in the farm-implement business, must have the gene. He's made the academy relevant to a lot of students.

"Egge is not the typical eggheaded economics professor," said Dave Smith, a 1981 graduate who worked for a farm cooperative out of Mac, before getting a Harvard MBA and becoming a principal in Marathon Partners, a private equity firm. "The typical economics professor, when called upon for career advice, recommends the kids go to graduate school. Karl thinks it's good to get out in the world and make a buck.

"I'm a farm kid from southern Wisconsin. I went to a 'white bread' high school and I wanted that international component and that diversity. Mac doesn't necessarily go for the best kid out of Blake High School. They get the best kids out of Bulgaria. It's also a lot tougher to get in than when I got in."

Smith and a couple of dozen other graduates have lectured in a patented Egge class called "The Deals." It's about transactions, careers and life.

"We've had a chance to listen to 30 people tell us what they do," said Andrew Wissley, a student from Virginia whose dad is a Marine officer serving in Iraq. "At Mac, you also learn to interact with people from different countries. You don't learn that from a book."

Endowed chair

Last week, several dozen Mac graduates gathered in St. Paul from several continents to honor Egge at a reception. He was stunned to learn that hundreds have pledged $2 million to endow a professorship -- that also will fund student travel -- in his name.

"It's amazing those students got together to do this," Egge said. "Usually it's just one rich guy who endows something."

Egge, who makes $95,000 after 35 years, has taught a lot of kids who today are multimillionaires. That pleases him and also inspires a little annual lecture on the opportunities and responsibilities of talented graduates.

After all, a year at Mac, including room and board, costs $36,500. Three-quarters of the students qualify for need-based scholarships.

"I tell the students three things," Egge said. "I tell them to work hard, make money and have fun. I tell them to live life as if they'll be judged on integrity. When you're in a difficult situation, do the right thing.

"I tell them to invest in relationships. ... Never stop listening and learning. And when they're successful, reach back and help others."

The new chair, endowed by many former students, suggests they got his message.

"Life and business are not just about debt-to-profit ratios, supply-and-demand and all the technical stuff," Egge said.

Spoken like a true economist -- with heart and the daring to teach lessons outside the classroom.

Neal St. Anthony • 612-673-7144 • nstanthony@startribune.com