News » Economics

Oscar Flores co-published paper

weatheco — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:03:40 +0000

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.

Economics students receive financial awards from Big Ten Universities and a competitive finance internship

weatheco — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 03:10:58 +0000

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.

In the past three years, six economics majors have been offered major financial awards from Big Ten Universities, including the University of Minnesota School of Law.

State Farm Insurance Company notified Nick Enger that he’ll receive one of only three competitive finance internships from the company’s regional office in Greeley, Colo. The ten-week internship will take place this summer.

T. J. Hansen interviewed by Congressional Quarterly Researcher

weatheco — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 03:09:58 +0000

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.

Economics Department presents workshop at 2012 Expanding Your Horizons Conference

weatheco — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 03:04:58 +0000

“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.

This conference, which is held at multiple sites in Fargo-Moorhead invites young women from Minnesota and North Dakota who are in the seventh, eighth, or ninth grade to explore careers which use mathematics. In the “Reality Economics” workshop, participants were introduced to the concepts of inflation, unemployment, and gross domestic product. Forty-nine participants were involved in making economic calculations and learning how economic data aid the decision making of households and firms.

Oscar Flores participated in a National Science Foundation funded workshop

weatheco — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 03:05:32 +0000

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.

Senior, Marissa Peterson, presents research at Eastern Economics Association Meeting

weatheco — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:04:32 +0000

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.

Peterson and Machunda published in social work journal

weatheco — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 03:07:50 +0000

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.

The article, “Teaching Evidence-based Practice at the BSW Level: An Effective Capstone Project,” describes an undergraduate senior capstone project, which, in partnership with internship activities, developed students’ familiarity with evidence-based practice concepts and improved their abilities to search for and use interventions from the professional literature. Findings from a survey study of the project indicated that students felt better prepared to use best practices and that the project enhanced their overall sense of competence as practitioners.

Steve Bolduc teaches Communiversity class

weatheco — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 03:03:38 +0000

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.

Dr. Bolduc will address this trend as well as the relation between economic inequality and the stability of democratic governance. For more information about this class and others offered through F/M Communiversity, call 218-299-3438, email communiversity@cord.edu or go to our website. Course brochures are available in the Livingston Lord Library.

Economics major to study at University of Portsmouth

monson — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:20:29 +0000

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 named president of Missouri Valley Economics Association

monson — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 03:12:56 +0000

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.

Oscar Flores named director of Honors Program

monson — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:04:16 +0000

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.

Faculty from Women’s Studies, Biosciences, Physics and Economics receive grant

monson — Mon, 09 May 2011 03:01:14 +0000

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’ paper published in journal

monson — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 21:38:15 +0000

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.

Economics majors presented at association meetings in New York

monson — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:20:33 +0000

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.

Economics majors to referee undergraduate journal

monson — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 16:12:25 +0000

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.

War on drugs lecture Nov. 17

monson — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 22:47:46 +0000

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 paper accepted for publication

monson — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:55:52 +0000

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.

University Honors Program Lecture Series resumes

monson — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:48:53 +0000

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

Oct 4, 2010

Dr. Lynda L. Coon

Associate Professor of History

University of Arkansas

“Hrabanus Maurus: A Carolingian Foursquare Man of Scripture”

7:30 p.m.

CB 109

Oct 21, 2010

Dr. Wendy Heller

Professor of Musicology

Princeton University

“Taming the Epic Hero: Jason and Medea in Seventeenth-Century Venice”

7:30 p.m.

CB 111

Nov 17, 2010

Dr. Oscar Flores

Professor of Economics

MSUM

“Of Zs and Barbies, Drugs and Lords: An Assessment of the War on Drugs”

7:30 p.m.

CB 109

Economics students commit to grad schools, internships

monson — Wed, 05 May 2010 21:17:50 +0000

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.

Interview schedule for Dean of University College finalists

monson — Mon, 03 May 2010 21:00:40 +0000

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.