Letter from the Department Chair
Tim Vogelsang,
Department Chair and Frederick S. Addy Distinguished Chair of Economics
I joined the Economics Department in the summer of 2006. I am an econometrician and my research area is time series analysis. I usually teach econometrics courses including the "much loved" required econometrics course, EC420.
Three New Members Join Departmental Advisory Board
The Department of Economics formed its Advisory Board in October of 2012, and we welcome our three newest members.
James A. Plemmons
Don Spence
John B. Whitledge
New Faculty
This fall, the Department of Economics welcomed five new Assistant Professors to the faculty. Read their profiles here.
Clockwise from top, left: Prabhat Barnwal, Qingqing Cao, Hanzhe Zhang, Ben Zou, and Oren Ziv.
MSU Economics Department Chosen to Host American Economic Association Summer Training Program
This summer, some two dozen top undergraduate students from around the country will be coming to Michigan State to take courses in economics from MSU faculty members, hoping to better prepare themselves for graduate training in economics. The students will be here as participants in the American Economic Association's (AEA) Summer Training and Scholarship Program, which MSU's Economics Department will be hosting for the next five years.
Department Expands Econ Scholars Program
Two years ago, the Department of Economics launched the "Econ Scholars" program, designed to recognize the achievements and potential of our top students. The inaugural class of Econ Scholars consisted of 14 economics majors chosen on the basis of their academic records and an application essay. This year, with the help of gifts from Don and Pat Spence and the Hoover Family fund, we have been able to expand the program, expanding the 2016 class of Econ Scholars to include 26 promising economics majors.
MSU's Econ Scholars enjoy some free time during their trip to Chicago this November.
Strassmann Fellowship to Support Promising Economics Graduate Students
This fall, the economics department was delighted to learn of Paul Strassmann's intention to fund a fellowship to help support promising graduate students in economics. Paul Strassmann joined the Michigan State economics faculty in 1963, and was for many years an outstanding teacher and researcher, with a particular interest in questions related to technological change and economic development. He is now an emeritus professor of economics.
Economics Help Room Program is Expanding
The department has long wanted to expand the Help Room program to provide even easier access to assistance for Principles students, as well as support for students in higher level economics courses. We are happy to announce that, thanks to the support of the MSU administration and a generous gift from Economics alumnus Warren Boos, we have now opened satellite Help Rooms in three of MSU's on campus "neighborhoods" so that students who live on campus will not have far to go to get the assistance that the Help Room program offers.
Undergraduate Award Winners for 2014-2015
About 400 economics majors graduate from Michigan State each year, and each year the department honors a small number of the most outstanding members of that group, publically acknowledging their accomplishments in a reception held at the close of the spring semester. During this year's undergraduate awards reception, seven economics majors were recognized for their academic achievements.
Giving to MSU Economics
We encourage alumni to recall and renew their Michigan State University ties by donating to the Department of Economics. These gifts not only contribute to our ability to positively impact the lives of students but also assist in the preservation of high quality education for future Spartans.
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