CAPE ELIZABETH – The Cape Elizabeth Land Trust last week announced the establishment of the “113 Fund” to honor the life and work of David Alan Aschauer, the Bates College economics professor who died after competing in the 2011 Tri for Preservation. Tax-deductible contributions to the 113 Fund will be used to fund summer internships in the economics department at Bates College.

Aschauer raced bib No. 113. His daughter, Erika Rodrigue of Augusta, will race No. 113 in his honor at this year’s Tri for Preservation in Cape Elizabeth on Sunday, Aug. 19.

“We wanted to remember Professor Aschauer and his work in an appropriate way,” said Ted Darling, president of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust. “We worked with David’s family and Bates College to establish the 113 Fund as a lasting tribute to his economic work emphasizing the role of investments in infrastructure to improve the quality of life.”

A former economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and the Elmer W. Campbell Professor of Economics at Bates, Aschauer loved the natural world almost as much as he loved numbers. A dedicated family man committed to economic education, he also enjoyed the natural beauty of Cape Elizabeth

As a tribute to his life and to ensure continued learning from his personal and professional teachings, the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust partnered with Aschauer’s family and Bates to create the 113 Fund to encourage critical thinking at the intersection of the economy and the environment.

In 1988, as a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank in Chicago, Aschauer made a claim that, as The Atlantic Monthly would later say, “set the economics profession on its ear.” Aschauer conducted research indicating that government spending on infrastructure roads, bridges, and airports could improve economic productivity. Writing for The Atlantic, Jonathan Rauch used Aschauer’s research as the centerpiece for his article “Taking Stock,” a widely noted assessment of federal spending priorities that appeared in the January-February 2003 issue. That same year, Aschauer was named the single most-cited full professor of economics at a U.S. liberal arts college in the annual study “Economic Scholarship at Elite Liberal Arts Colleges: Are Other Economists Paying Attention?” At Bates, David was known as a fine teacher, scholar, adviser and colleague. His teaching and research interests centered on macroeconomics, financial markets and economic growth. His recent research looked at the relationship between fiscal and monetary policy in the United States, as well as relationships between real interest rates and real exchange rates in an open-economy setting.

Ten percent of the net proceeds from this year’s Tri for Preservation will be donated to the fund. Additionally, Aschauer’s family will match all contributions dollar-for-dollar up to the first $1,500. Athlete participants in the race may contribute to the fund when they register for Tri for Preservation. Contributions may also be made on the land trust website at capelandtrust.org/triathlon.