Dan Suits was a faculty member in the Department from 1974 until his retirement in 1986.
Suits received a BA in Philosophy from the University of Michigan in 1940 and then both an MA and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Michigan, the latter in 1948. Following graduate school, Suits was a long-time faculty member at Michigan (1950–1969), including serving as Director of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics. He then was professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz from 1969-1974 before joining MSU.
As a Quaker, Dan was a pacifist, but served alternate military duty from 1942-1946.
Suits’ primary research work was in the field of economic growth theory and modeling and the use of econometric, statistical and mathematical methods and models for forecasting. In his work at Michigan, he had become a major leader in this field. Later, his broad interests led him to major accomplishments in demographics and the economics of gambling. His work made him a valuable consultant to various state and federal agencies.
Dan was a much-sought visitor at a variety of institutions. He was a research associate at the Center for Economic Research, Athens, (1962-63). Suits was a long-time visiting professor at the East-West Center in Honolulu (associated with the University of Hawaii) as well as visiting professor at People's University, Beijing (1985), Fudan University, Shanghai (1987), Swarthmore College (1988), and Kalamazoo College (1989).
Later in his career, Dan came to believe that teaching introductory economics and developing broad understanding of economic principles was among the most valuable role for economists, and it was partly that desire that attracted him to MSU. He taught large sections of introductory macroeconomics each semester, both fulfilling a valuable role for the Department and helping to achieve his personal ambition.
Suits was a Fellow of the Econometric Society and the American Statistical Association. Michigan State granted him the Distinguished Faculty Award in 1980.
While teaching at MSU, Dan and his wife, Adelaide, lived in Ann Arbor, although in retirement he moved to East Lansing.