Lagniappe Founder And Publisher Bob Hartnett Remembers Longtime Columnist And Friend Dr. Mike Kurth
On April 30, 2024, I lost a dear friend and a long-time Lagniappe columnist, Dr. Michael Kurth.
Mike came to Lake Charles from Michigan in the fall of 1984 to teach at McNeese. When he arrived, Paul Savoie was mayor, Joe Dumars was MSU’s favorite athlete, Miss Molly was a popular musician, interest rates on a home mortgage were about 17 percent, the unemployment rate was near 12 percent, and Jack Doland was McNeese’s president.
Mike’s legacy continues through the (literally) thousands of McNeese students that he taught and mentored.
Not long after he came to Lake Charles, one of Mike’s students suggested he call me to discuss the possibility of his writing a column in our magazine. Mike had to pull out his Cajun-to-English dictionary to figure out what the hell Lagniappe meant and how to pronounce it.
He quickly learned a lot of things about the south: that “fixin’ to” didn’t mean to repair something and if you “axed” someone, you were making an inquiry and not attacking him with a hatchet. He was puzzled as to why “coon-ass” was not an insult to be whispered behind a Cajun’s back but a term of pride among Cajuns.
Over the years, Mike wrote nearly 1,000 columns for Lagniappe. He quickly developed a following and had an ability unique to someone of his background: He could talk and write in terms that the general public could understand.
Two articles he wrote actually produced new laws. One was about the need for propositions on a ballot to be written in language voters can understand rather than in “legalese.” This idea became the “Plain Language Bill.”
The other article was about portable signs, and it led Ed Watson (then mayor) to break a tie in the City Council and vote to ban them from Lake Charles. (Remember what Lake Charles looked like in 1984 with those curb-hugging signs everywhere?)
A number of his articles were picked up by other newspapers. The Baton Rouge Advocate ran one he wrote on fiscal reform in Louisiana. Also picked up was his article on people leaving the state. (Remember the popular bumper sticker “Last one to leave Lake Charles, please turn out the lights?) The Beaumont Enterprise ran his predictions on oil prices. (He was right.)
Also, the Human Studies Institute nationally distributed a piece Mike wrote on the Economics of Turning 40, in which he advocated a market for body organs for human transplant.
One of his first humorous articles that generated quite a response was titled Calcasieu County, in which he suggested Louisiana solve its financial woes by selling the southwest corner of the state to Texas. At that time, a lot of people thought it was a good idea, and some even started printing t-shirts with the slogan and researching the legalities of such a sale.
Many enjoyed Mike’s article about his 3 am trip to the hospital with Cathy deep in labor with their fourth child. She made him stop to pick up a young lady whose car had broken down.
And everyone remembers his stories about his family’s motor home vacations.
Some will remember his six-part series on gubernatorial candidate David Duke’s background. Duke supporters hated it, which resulted in some considerable damage to Lagniappe racks in the rural part of the parish.
I often called Mike on the way home to check on the status of his next article. I knew to call him when I had plenty of time to discuss his ideas. My last contact with Mike was a call to see if I needed to save space in our next issue. I knew he had been working on a legal case and his work was due the next day. I found out he had lost power to his house, his computer was down, and yet he asked me to save space for him. It would turn out to be his last column.
I treasure the friendship and the time we shared together. He is no doubt working on a special project involving streets of gold.
Mike, save me some space, okay?
A TRIBUTE TO MIKE KURTH
Longtime McNeese economics professor, respected local economic researcher and consultant,
and Lagniappe columnist Mike Kurth passed away on April 30. We reached out to several people
Mike knew and worked with to have them share their memories. You are missed, Mike.
Mike was an exceptional economist and friend who created multiple generations of successful graduates through the classroom. His legacy will continue for decades. While gone, he will never be forgotten.
— Mike Eason, retired senior vice president, Merrill Lynch
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I worked with Mike for many years. He was always friendly, never abrupt. His columns were notable for their clear explanations and thought-provoking ideas. I will miss him.
— Brad Goins, Lagniappe editor (2000-2023)
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Mike lived his life with integrity. He was kind, patient, empathetic and selfless — the same exact person in public as he was in private. He loved people, loved storytelling, was a leader in our community, and was respected throughout the entire state of Louisiana.
Everyone knew he adored Cathy and loved his family. In fact, I remember a time when we were on a trip to New Orleans. As we exited I-210 onto I-10, I asked Mike, casually, how his family was doing. By the time he finished updating me, we were passing through Jennings and thirty minutes had gone by.
Mike loved his work. He had a piercing intellect. He observed everything and was a great writer who could take complex theories and issues and explain them in a way the reader could understand. Even in his writing, he was a teacher.
Mike was the quintessential professor. He had much to profess and loved sharing his thoughts. His best work was produced during third shift between 11 pm and 7 am — usually while cooking.
It was not unusual for me to receive an email at 3:30 am or to hear my phone ringing at 2 am. He worked best when there was a deadline – otherwise he would chase rabbits. He always produced excellent work. I have to be honest and say I marveled at his insight and never knew where he might land on different issues.
In our car rides across the state, we had deep-rooted discussions about faith, JFK’s assassination, the Cold War, OJ Simpson, UFOs and ancient civilizations. And that’s not even an exhaustive list.
Anytime I spoke with him I walked away more amazed at my friend’s depth and my lack thereof.
Mike loved to laugh — he loved Dilbert. I always waited eagerly for his annual story in Lagniappe on his motor home trips — they reminded me of the Griswolds on National Lampoon’s Family Vacation.
Marvin Ashton once said, “If we could look into each other’s hearts and see the unique challenges each of us face, I think we would treat each other much more gently, with more love, patience, tolerance and care.” Mike was that kind of person.
Knowing Michael Kurth has enriched my life and I am a better man for having known him.
— Dr. Daryl Burckel, McNeese State University president
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Dr. Kurth made a lasting impact on all who knew him. He was always helpful in our economic development efforts at the Alliance. His depth of knowledge was incredible. His columns in Lagniappe were where most of us learned his views. While not always agreeing with his conclusions, I was challenged along with his readers to think. He will be missed but always remembered for his impact on Southwest Louisiana.
— George Swift, president/CEO, The Southwest Louisiana Economic Development Alliance
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Mike hired me years ago as a new Ph.D. out of LSU. I had been working at a small college in Wisconsin and really wanted to get back to Louisiana. I’d heard of a job opening at McNeese, emailed as soon as I could, and was on my way to Lake Charles for an interview.
Mike met me at O’Charley’s (the first of many lunch meetings we’d have there). He showed me around the city and around McNeese’s campus. At the time, McNeese was in the NIT tournament, and he got me tickets to my first Cowboy basketball game at Burton Coliseum. As a basketball fan, attending a national tournament game was a pretty good selling point for me. I happily accepted the job and got to work alongside Mike for two years.
I learned so much about the local economy and the science of economics in general from him in such a short time. After I left to work for the state, we kept in touch, and when I returned to McNeese we were able to work together again.
I am so grateful that I was able to call him a co-worker and a friend. There’s much more I could write about Mike, but I think his obituary sums it up perfectly.
Mike will be missed by so many. He leaves behind a legacy of learning, family and generosity. It was a life well-lived.
— Dan Groft, director of H.C. Drew Center for Business and Economic Analysis
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“Mad Dog Mike,” as we affectionately called Dr. Kurth, was my introduction to college level economics. Using Moon Pies and Mad Dog, he introduced me to a lens I have used to better understand the world.
I went on to study labor and gender economics in graduate school and received my PhD in 1994. As an educator, I have stolen a number of exercises I remember doing in Dr. Kurth’s class: my students make paper airplanes to better understand diminishing marginal product and eat too much candy to understand diminishing returns.
I often think of Dr. Kurth and the impact he had on me. Just this fall for Halloween I dressed as that 18-year-old girl complete with my original notes from his class. It may be hard to believe, but yes, I still had those notes!
Not long ago, I had the opportunity to talk to Dr. Kurth. I’m so grateful we had that time. He remembered so many details about me (including my completely embarrassing crush on then-congressman Jack Kemp).
I treasure that conversation and having the opportunity to say thank you. While our political positions had diverged over the years, he was truly the model of what can be best about the libertarian perspective — grounded in kindness and intelligence.
Sending gratitude to the universe that we crossed paths.
— Lisa Jordan, PhD, United Steelworkers chief economist
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Mike was a great and effective teacher. His ability to connect complex economic theories to practice in simple words (and with great humor) amazed me.
Public finance was his forte. He could nicely draw public policy implications giving real-world political economy examples in both national and local contexts. His education at Virginia Tech and mentoring by Buchanon, a giant in public finance, solidly paved his way forward. He was informal in dialogue and maintained intimate social interactions at family levels. This was rare, indeed.
I’d like to share a little bit about the first time I met him. It was March, 1989, and we were in New Orleans for an academic conference.
At that time, he was head of the Economics and Finance Dept., and was there to find a suitable candidate to fill an assistant professor role.
He was carefully going through the portfolios of several candidates, mine included. He interviewed me and decided to invite me for a campus visit.
I flew in from Dallas and was warmly welcomed by Mike at the airport. His warmth of heart electrified me.
The interview process began at 9 am the next day. At first, I was asked to teach a class on the Phillips Curve and its efficacy as a macroeconomic policy tool.
I tried my best to depict good classroom performance, keeping in mind that McNeese State University is primarily a teaching institution with a growing emphasis on academic research.
At the end of the class presentation, he collected student evaluations and received some faculty feedback. After looking them over, Mike gave me a thumbs-up, and I breathed a sigh of relief.
The next step was presenting my research paper in front of the business faculty and facing a host of questions on the importance of the topic, methodology and findings.
I later met some faculty in their offices, and Mike took me to the dean and the provost for brief informal chats. In my view, the individual chats were designed to assess my collegiality.
I am sharing this recruitment process with you to underscore how meticulous Mike was in decision making when it came to hiring suitable faculty. His goal was to improve the quality of the College of Business. In order to reach that goal, he focused on hiring faculty from nationally well-reputed universities.
At the end of this process, I was asked how I felt. “I already feel at home,” I said, citing the similarities in climate between Louisiana and Bangladesh (my native land). I also added that my transition would be smooth coming from SMU (Southern Methodist University) to MSU. Everyone present burst into laughter.
At the end of the day, Mike drove me back to the airport and, to my great surprise and excitement, made a verbal job offer at the airport. I instantly accepted. Mike’s warmth and candor acted as a large magnet attracting me to McNeese. Because of him, I joined the faculty in the fall of 1989 and I’m still here.
Later, when I came with my wife and young son to search for a place to live, Mike insisted on us staying with him until we found something permanent.
We will never forget Mike and Cathy’s hospitality. Mike embraced anyone in need. He welcomed them into his home without bias or prejudice.
What a great soul he was. I received my United States permanent residency through McNeese in time. “Promise made, promise kept.”
Thank you, dear Mike.
I am in deep gratitude to Mike for being a big part of my life. In his death, I have lost a great friend whom I could count on for any help and advice.
I salute you, dear Mike. May God give rest to your departed soul in eternal peace.
— Matiur Rahman, professor of Finance at McNeese State University
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