John Graham Logan (1940-1998)
by Greg Lindsay

The day before he died suddenly on January 15, John Logan enjoyed an animated discussion with CIS Senior Fellow Barry Maley (with whom he shared an office) about the work and ideas of Isaac Newton. Such was the intellectual curiosity of a man who had been associated with the Centre for nearly 20 years and had been a CIS Research Fellow, mostly specialising in health policy issues, since 1986 when he came to Sydney.

From the Hunter Valley near Newcastle, John was Dux of Singleton High School before starting his undergraduate studies at the Newcastle campus of the University of Sydney (which has now become the University of Newcastle). One of his teachers there was Warren Hogan. After graduating he accepted a post-graduate scholarship at the Australian National University, where he arrived in 1965. In 1967 he became a Lecturer in the Department of Economics of the School of General Studies and in 1975 a Senior Lecturer. His ANU years were characterised by his love and enthusiasm for teaching. His dedication to his students was reciprocated in their affection for him. The large Economics I classes that he taught (numbering in some cases up to 400 students) were legendary. In 1977 John inaugurated the Plastic Palm Tree Prize for Mathematical Economics and it has been awarded every year since then, with John continuing to present the Prize after he left the University.

When he left Canberra in 1986, he established the Health Policy Program at the Centre, and in one form or another this work continued until his death. He also worked as a consultant for various organisations during this period, especially in health related areas, and maintained his teaching skill with stints at the University of Sydney, the University of Technology, the Australian Graduate School of Management and the Australian Simon University. His work in health policy appeared in various books and articles published by the Centre and other outlets, and in professional journals such as the Medical Journal of Australia.

It’s quieter down the hall at the Centre now, and John’s cheerfulness, energy and selfless willingness to lend a hand or give some good advice, will be sadly missed. He will not be forgotten.

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