Michael S. McPherson is an American economist who was the 15th president of Macalester College between 1996 and 2003.[1][2][3] Before Macalester, McPherson taught economics at Williams College, where he was also chair of economics department and dean of the faculty.[4] After leaving Macalester, he led the Spencer Foundation for fourteen years before retiring in 2017, where he is president emeritus.[5]