Sandra Hanson McPherson, Millersville University, and Oscar Flores, economics, published the paper “Provincial Disparities and Structural Unemployment in Canada” in the latest issue of the journal, Regional and Sectoral Economic Studies.
Tanner McCarty will receive a renewable tuition waiver and assistantship valued at more than $40,000 to attend Purdue University to study natural resource economics this fall.
Kegan Reiswig will receive a very similar renewable assistantship for graduate study at the University of Illinois in natural resource economics. Read the rest of this entry →
Economics faculty member, T. J. Hansen, was one of several researchers from across the U.S. interviewed by Congressional Quarterly Researcher and featured in the article, “Attracting Jobs – Do tax breaks for business spur employment?” The article is accessible using CQ Researcher Online.
Congressional Quarterly Researcher is nationally recognized for publishing weekly reports on economics, health, social trends, criminal justice, international affairs, education, technology, and the environment.
“Reality Economics,” a workshop developed by T. J. Hansen, Assistant Professor of Economics, and six MSUM students (Kelsey Grondahl, Melhik Negatu, Katie Nicklay, Fariha Rahman, Jill Steinwand, and Enkhjargal Tumenbayar) was delivered in conjunction with the Expanding Your Horizons Conference on April 14. Read the rest of this entry →
Oscar Flores, Economics, participated in a National Science Foundation funded workshop. The workshop was dedicated to create content for web portal Starting Point: Teaching and Learning Economics. This site introduces economists to innovative teaching strategies developed both within and beyond the discipline of economics.
The workshop was hosted by the Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College. Participation in the workshop was by invitation only. Flores was invited to participate for his expertise in mentoring undergraduate student research in economics.
Marissa Peterson, presented her research, “Undergraduate Retention Rates across Regional Public Universities,” at the Eastern Economics Association Meeting in Boston, Mass., March 9-11. Economics faculty members, Oscar Flores and T. J. Hansen, advised her research.
The Economics Department and Peterson extend a special thank you to MSUM alumnus, Curt Gudmundson, who provided financial support for her participation in this conference. Peterson is the 23rd undergraduate student in ten consecutive years to represent the MSUM Economics Department at this conference.
Susan Peterson, Social Work; Zachary Machunda, Economics; Shannon Bacon (2008 Social Work and Women’s Studies); and Amy Phillips, University of North Dakota (and a former MSUM faculty member) had an article published in the Fall 2011 Journal of Social Work Education (Vol. 47, No. 3). The acceptance rate for this journal is 20 percent. Read the rest of this entry →
Dr. Steve Bolduc, Economics Department, will address “Prosperity and Adversity in the Land of Opportunity” on Sundays, March 4 and 11, 1:30-3:30 p.m. at Concordia. The course, offered through F/M Communiversity, is part of the series, “The Disintegrating Political Climate in the U.S.” The years since 1977 have seen income and wealth increasingly skewed toward the highest earners while most workers have experienced flat or negative growth. Read the rest of this entry →
Rachel Hettich, originally from Roscoe, S.D., will participate in an exchange program with the University of Portsmouth, United Kingdom for spring semester 2012. She is a junior Economics major. Rachel is looking forward to studying economics in a different country to reveal new aspects of the concepts she has learned at MSUM. Her exchange experience is partially funded by donations of MSUM Economics Department alumni to a departmental study abroad scholarship.
Oscar Flores, Economics, has been named the president of the Missouri Valley Economics Association. The MVEA was established in 1963 and boasts members from all 50 states and many countries. As president, he will be in charge of organizing the 49th annual meetings to be held next October in Memphis, Tenn. Over 200 papers are expected to be presented.
Dean Gorsline is pleased to announce the appointment of Oscar Flores as the Director of the Honors program. He will serve in this role for one year, after which a campus-wide search will be conducted. Flores will bring many new ideas to the honors program and will work on implementing the recommendations of the Task Force on Graduation and Retention regarding this program.
Linda Fuselier, Biosciences and Women’s Studies, Claudia Murphy, Women’s Studies, Linda Winkler and Steven Lindaas, both Physics, and Steven Bolduc, Economics, received a Chancellor’s Office Faculty Development Grant. This multidisciplinary team will form a curriculum development group and design materials for contextualized STEM pedagogy in Bioscience and Physics courses.
Oscar Flores, Economics, had a co-authored paper published in the March issue of The Empirical Economic Letters. Flores and Sandra Hanson McPherson, the main author, found evidence suggesting that unemployment due to the mismatch of skills that potential workers have and employers want increased in Canada during the early 1990s.
Kegan Reiswig and Luke Sperling, Economics majors, presented papers at the undergraduate sessions of the Eastern Economics Association meetings in New York City. Kegan found no evidence that revenue sharing in Major League Baseball has increased league competitiveness; Luke found no evidence that job opportunities near a university negatively affects the university’s freshman retention rate. Oscar Flores, Economics, mentored both students.
Six Economics majors were invited to be referees for Issues in Political Economy, a peer reviewed undergraduate journal. This experience will allow Rachel Metzger, Amber Wolbeck, Joseph Bottrell, Fariha Rahman, Keegan Reisweig, and Tanner McCarty the opportunity to hone their own research skills and to be exposed to work from students of the best colleges and universities in the country. These students are working under the direction of Oscar Flores, Economics.
The final Fall Honors Lecture will feature the War on Drugs Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in Center for Business 109. Dr. Oscar Flores, professor of Economics, will talk on “Of Zs and Barbies, Drugs and Lords: An Assessment of the War on Drugs.” The lecture is free and open to the public.
Oscar Flores, Economics, had the paper “The unemployment-vacancy relationship in a local labor market” accepted for publication in the journal The Empirical Economic Letters. In this paper, Flores identifies a decrease in structural and frictional unemployment in the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Statistical Area from 1992 to 2001. Structural unemployment occurs due to a mismatch between the skills companies want and those unemployed workers have, while frictional unemployment occurs due to worker mobility.
The University Honors Program invites everyone to the Fall 2010 lecture series. The schedule for the lectures are as follows:
September 23
Denise Gorsline
Dean of the MSUM University College
“Lady GaGa, Katy Perry, and Jersey Shore; What in the World do these have to
do with Your Future?”
7:30 p.m.
CB 109
The following 2010 Economics graduates have committed to the following graduate schools: Jena Thompson – Purdue University, full tuition and scholarship; Clay Kramer – University of Illinois, full tuition and scholarship; Mark Frenzel – Claremont Graduate School, scholarship; Alex Kangas – University of Utah; and James Teigland – William Mitchell Law School. Student Isaac Thomas will complete an internship in China with Shineray Motorcycyles, the first international internship completed by an MSUM student.
Three finalists for the position of Dean of University College are scheduled to hold open forums for the MSUM community. The forums are scheduled for May 6 and May 7 and all members of the MSUM community are invited to attend. These forums are an opportunity to learn more about the finalists and to submit comments on their qualifications to the search committee. The Dean of University College will play a key role in leading the following: Corrick Center, Dragon Core and its assessment, Writing Intensive Program, First Year Seminar, Learning Communities, Honors, Academic Programs for Undecided Students, University Studies, Personal Development courses, and Service Learning. The Dean is responsible for planning, developing, coordinating, and implementing those programs in order to ensure student success. Leadership in this area involves working collaboratively with all academic departments and programs, enrollment management and, as appropriate, Student Affairs. The Dean is administrative supervisor of the Corrick Center and the Academic Resource Office (ARO), and will serve on the President’s Cabinet, the Academic Affairs Council, APAC (nonvoting), and other University committees as needed.
Open Forum for Oscar Flores: Thursday, May 6, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., CMU 203 Oscar Flores is a tenured professor in Economics. He was chairperson of the Department of Economics from 1999-2008. From 1995-1999, Flores was a member of the Department of Multicultural Studies. Flores is currently the MSU Moorhead faculty representative on the negotiation team of the IFO/MnSCU Master Agreement. Flores earned a Ph.D. from the University of Cincinnati in 1990.
Open Forum for Jarilyn Gess: Thursday, May 6, 2- 3 p.m., CMU 203
Jarilyn K. Gess is a tenured professor in the Corrick Center for General Education. She is currently the Director of the Corrick Center. Gess earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Dakota in 1999, an M.Ed. from North Dakota State University in 1991, and an M.S. from North Dakota State University in 1990. Gess has served as Associate Dean of the College of Education and Human Services (2003-2005) and as chairperson of the CEELFF Department (Counseling Education, Education Leadership, Foundations and Field Experience, 2002-2003).
Open Forum for Denise Gorsline: Friday, May 7, 11 a.m.-12 p.m., CMU 205
Denise Gorsline is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies. She is currently chairperson of the department. Gorsline earned an M.A. in Interpersonal and Public Communication from Central Michigan University in 1981 and is currently working on a Ph.D. at North Dakota State University. From 1986-2001, Gorsline was a Divisional Vice President for Distribution for Domino’s Pizza.
