On March 25, the 2009 Nobel laureate in economics Professor Oliver E. Williamson visited XJTU and was named honorary professor. Vice President Song Xiaoping awarded him with the appointment certificate and a school pin.

Professor Williamson discussed some topics in his area of specialization in a lecture entitled “Transaction Cost Economics：The Natural Progression.” Transaction cost economics is a new interdisciplinary field that brings together law, economics and organization science. It was Professor Williamson's contributions to this field that were the basis of his Nobel Prize. Following the lecture, the students in attendance enthusiastically asked numerous questions to which Professor Williamson responded one by one.