Obituary: University of St. Thomas economics professor Mohamed Selim, 91

Longtime University of St. Thomas economics professor Mohamed Ali Selim, known to generations of students simply as "Mo," died Dec. 20. He was 91.

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 1924, Selim was the fifth of 14 children. He earned a bachelor's degree from Cairo University in 1952, and later left Egypt with $50 hidden in his shoe to study at the University of Minnesota with renowned economist Walter Heller. Egypt's political situation at the time didn't allow for the export of money so even though his family had means, "it didn't do him any good [overseas]," said his son, Ali Selim, of Portland, Ore.

Mohamed Selim's father was a successful businessman in Alexandria, primarily in the shipping industry, and his initial goal was to return to the country and run the business. But Selim's mentors in Minnesota recognized and encouraged his exceptional talent as a teacher. He also met and married his wife, Evelyn Niemeier, here. They would have three children.

Selim taught at the University of Minnesota for five years, beginning in 1954. In 1959, he joined the faculty at St. Thomas, where he would teach for 45 years.

For 22 years, he served as the Economics Department's chair. He founded the Center for Senior Citizens' Education, which on its 40th anniversary in 2010 was renamed the Selim Center for Learning in Later Years.

Sister Marie Herbert Seiter took a class from Selim in the summer of 1963 because she needed a credit and "fell in love with the subject of economics, which I knew nothing about prior to his class," she said.

The class was the beginning of a professional relationship that lasted decades. Seiter served as the director of the Selim Center after Selim retired.

She described him as a fun and vibrant teacher who made economics sound obvious and sensible. "Once you met Mo, you were never the same," she said.

With assistance from the Bush Foundation, Selim established the Institutes in Economic Education in 1967 for high school social-science teachers, and later the St. Thomas Center for Economic Education, which he directed for decades.

Selim, a Muslim, was the first non-Catholic professor on the faculty of St. Thomas, Ali Selim said. "[Early on,] he said, 'I'll stay for a year, but I don't know if I'm going to fit in,' " his son said.

Ali Selim, a filmmaker and screenwriter, said his father made frequent return visits to Alexandria, often taking his children and grandchildren. On these occasions, he was able to help with the family business, most significantly with a restructuring after President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in 2011.

Selim was a social economist, and encouraged his children to make investments in opportunity and relationships, his son said.

Max Selim, Ali's 28-year-old son, recalled walking his dog to St. Thomas to visit his grandfather at work. He credits him with instilling in him a multicultural worldview that has led to his own curiosity and travels as a film director and producer.

The professor also had one passionate pursuit near his southwest Minneapolis home: his sailboat on Lake Harriet. "The buoy drawing was a big deal to him," his son said, adding that his father always wanted a buoy to the left and closer to the dock.

Selim is also survived by Evelyn, his wife of 58 years; two other children, Ramy, of St. Paul, and Mona, of Edina, several siblings and four other grandchildren. Services have been held.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747 • Twitter: @rochelleolson