One of Paris Charlie Hebdo attack victims taught at University of Iowa

A former University of Iowa professor was among 12 people killed Wednesday when Islamist gunmen stormed a French satirical weekly in Paris.

Bernard Maris, 68, was an economist and journalist for the publication Charlie Hebdo, where he wrote a weekly column, 'Uncle Bernard,” according to The Guardian, a news corporation based in the United Kingdom.

Maris was employed as a visiting assistant professor of economics in the UI College of Business in the fall semester of 1981, said Joseph Brennan, UI vice president for strategic communication. He also spent time early in his career working for the Central Bank of Peru, according to The Guardian.

He was teaching economics at the University of Paris-VIII at the time of his death, and he was on the board of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical newspaper that employed numerous well-known cartoonists. The publication, which previously had been the target of threats for its controversial cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad, on Wednesday become the site of the deadliest attack in postwar France.

Victims included Maris, four of the magazine's cartoonists, and its editor, according to news reports.

In a profile of victims published Wednesday evening, the Los Angeles Times reported Maris was a 'noted Keynesian and political maverick,” who was widely read and appeared frequently on French television and radio to debate economics and politics.

'Maris' political beliefs could be difficult to pigeonhole,” according to the Times' report. 'He was sometimes categorized with ‘alter-globalization' advocates, who believe in some forms of global cooperation but oppose many of the effects of economic globalization.”

At the same time, according to the report, he was grouped with environmentalists and the Green Party.

Maris was a member of the governing board of the Bank of France, according to the Times, and an independent author.

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday reported Maris as one of the victims and said he had a 'wonderful talent for explaining complex notions in simple language.”

'In his newspaper, television and radio work, he argued for a world that was more just,” according to the organization. 'Like his friends and colleagues, Bernard Maris fought against inequality, injustice and oppression. The world is a sadder place without the mockery of brave, clever, funny, people like them.”