Dear friends and donors,
We are experiencing exciting times in U‑M's Department of Economics. This spring more than 750 students graduated from our undergraduate program, making it our largest class on record! Professor Jim Adams gave the undergraduate commencement address as we celebrated 50 years of his teaching and research in the department! To continue providing the best experience for all of our students as we grow, a gift to our Economics Strategic Fund is the most impactful way you can support our department.
I am delighted to inform you that two of our faculty have recently received grants to support leading research in their fields. Professor Amanda Kowalski and her team received a grant from the LSA Meet the Moment Research Initiative for their project that uses COVID-19 vaccination data from Michigan Medicine to evaluate inequities in health and economic hardship.
Associate Professor Michael Mueller-Smith received a high-profile National Science Foundation CAREER award for his work harmonizing criminal justice data from dispersed jurisdictions across the United States. We are excited to see the direction these research projects will take, and for the opportunities that they will provide for our learning community.
Our ambitious faculty recruitment efforts continue. We will welcome six new faculty this academic year. Growing our faculty is key to providing the learning experience and research opportunities that help our students thrive. Strategic recruiting will continue to be a high priority this year.
Our student groups continue to flourish and provide places of opportunity, community, and learning experiences for our student body. We have eight groups providing diverse options for our graduate and undergraduate students to get involved in and enrich their experience at Michigan. Information about our student groups is always available on our website.
Our students—and the faculty and staff who serve them every day—benefit from gifts to the Strategic Fund. We depend on these dollars to bring in experts, engage with the economics community beyond Ann Arbor, and strengthen our programs. We appreciate your continued support that opens doors for the next generation of economics students. Your gifts are essential in making Michigan one of the best economics departments in the world.
Go Blue!
John Leahy
Chair of Economics
Allen Sinai Professor of Macroeconomics and Public Policy
