The Dean and Provost have named Santanu Roy the Robert H. and Nancy Dedman Professor in Economics. This is an endowed position given to a faculty member in recognition of their outstanding research accomplishments. Roy has firmly established himself as an international leader in microeconomic theory, and is expected to continue to make significant contributions to the discipline.
Ritney Coleman was recently featured in an article by the SMU Pathways to Business and Industry team. Ritney is a rising senior pursuing a B.S. in Economics with Financial Applications. A military veteran, he initially aimed to major in accounting and become a CPA, but decided on a different career path where he felt he could make more of a societal impact.
Ritney credits SMU’s vast resources with helping him focus on his passion for research and non-profit leadership. He’s gained practical experience by collaborating with local non-profits through community events. Ritney’s goal is to develop a non-profit that serves disadvantaged youth by providing various opportunities through field trips, seminars, sports programs, and college access support.
Ritney emphasizes the importance of networking and engaged actively with professors to uncover learning opportunities. This summer, he is a research assistant for Dr. Elizabeth Wheaton-Páramo, Research Associate Professor in Economics through the Office of Engaged Learning’s Summer Research Intensive. Ritney is using the SMU human trafficking data warehouse to gather data on organized crime groups transition between smuggling and human trafficking. Ritney noted that the knowledge obtained in his Introductory Econometrics class has helped him “feel confident analyzing data.”
When asked about his advice for incoming first-year students, Ritney said, “the opportunities are available, but students need to be active, not passive, in their networking pursuits. I was able to get an internship by simply asking my professor.” Ritney recommends first and second year undergraduate students schedule an appointment with the Hegi Family Career Development Center early for resume prep and to build their LinkedIn profile. He also credits his peers in the Economics department for providing him with useful resources.
For students interested in data analysis and practical skills development, Ritney suggests exploring the Bloomberg Terminals in the Business Library, where he is currently pursuing the Bloomberg Market Concepts Certificate.
To find out more information about the SMU Pathways to Business and Industry, please contact pbi@smu.edu. Full article can be found here.
Two SMU Economics alumni have received prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship awards for the 2024-2025 academic year. The two Economics winners are Colton Fontenot, who will travel to the Slovak Republic and Victoria Romanczyk, who will go to Poland.
Colton (Cole) Fontenot graduated in May 2022 with a B.A. in economics, history, philosophy, and public policy and achieved the rare feat of completing three distinction theses during his senior year. Eager to learn more about educational systems in other countries, the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in the Slovak Republic will support Cole’s long-term goal of crafting more equitable education policy in the United States.
Victoria Romanczyk graduated in May with a B.S. in economics and statistical science and a B.A. in international studies. She will teach not just Polish students, but students from all over the EU. Victoria said that “this is a dream come true and for any upcoming seniors who are thinking about taking on a gap year or who are interested in seeing what it is like to live, work, or do research abroad I would definitely recommend looking into Fulbright programs.”
Congratulations Cole and Victoria! We wish you the best of luck!
On April 23rd, the Department hosted the spring awards luncheon. Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE) inductees as well as departmental award winners were recognized for their accomplishments.
Enrique Martínez García, an economic policy advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, provided a talk on “Where Do Post-COVID Housing Markets Stand? A Shifting Outlook for Global Real Estate”.
Congratulations to all of our inductees and award winners! Keep up the good work!
The SMU Human Trafficking Data Research (HTDR) Project Team and volunteers hosted the first-of-its-kind SMU Human Trafficking Data Conference! It was an amazing 2-day event of human trafficking experts working together to learn, ask questions, and network. Researchers, practitioners, law enforcement and governmental officials, nonprofit organizations, data scientists, and other stakeholders met to discuss the quality, availability, and efficacy of human trafficking data.
We are very proud of our recent alumnus, Jesse LaBelle. He graduated from SMU in 2020 with a BS in Economics with a focus on Mathematics. After graduating from SMU he joined the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, eventually becoming a Senior Research Associate, where he has had a tremendous impact. His work on multinational corporations was featured in the famous podcast – Trade Talks – “How multinationals avoid taxes through technology licensing”. In addition, his work on supply chain disruptions and inflation was cited by the United States White House in the 2024 Economic Report of the President. In Jesse’s words: “Being cited in the CEA report is a tremendous honor and exciting to know that the work we did has some real world policy relevance.”
Jesse is currently enrolled in the PhD program in Economics at Northwestern University, one of the top programs in the world. We wish him the best and look forward to many more great achievements.
Dr. Ahlberg has been chosen to receive the Barbara and James Mangum Teaching Award in recognition of her extraordinary student engagement. Her dedication to teaching, including her work in redesigning principles courses and creating new undergraduate electives, is appreciated by the department and cherished by students.
Distinguished alum and private investor Charles Mangum gave a million dollar gift to SMU for two teaching awards – one in Economics and the other in Accounting, the two disciplines that (according to him) offered the most challenging courses in his undergraduate curriculum at SMU. The award is intended to “promote and reward the art of teaching”. The criteria for the award is that the recipient be non-tenured and extraordinary at student involvement. The award itself is named after his parents Barbara and James Mangum who live in New Orleans.
Charles Mangum graduated from SMU 1986 with a BA in Economics and a BBA in Finance. He earned an MBA from the University of Chicago in 1990 and has had a highly successful career in investment and portfolio management.
Congratulations to our awesome PhD students, Jun Nie and Shuo Qi for winning the 2024 Melody Rice Award!
On May 11, 2024, we proudly celebrated a significant milestone for the Department of Economics as 142 bright minds were awarded their degrees. Among them were 133 undergraduates, 7 master’s students, and 2 PhD students, each marking the culmination of years of hard work, dedication, and passion for the field of economics. Congratulations to each and every one of them as they embark on the next chapter. Their time here has equipped them with the analytical tools and critical thinking skills needed to navigate and influence the global economic landscape.
Watch a video of the ceremony here.
Congratulations to Benjamin Liu for winning the 2024 Wallace F. Lovejoy Award!
