Roanomics Volume 4, Issue 1.pdf

there is so much going on

right now that will shape

the economic future of our

country and the global

economy. If you are truly

interested in these issues

and you study real hard,

you will find that there may

be more questions than an-

swers, and that’s what

makes economics so much

fun.

Want to major/minor in

economics? Declare here or

contact an economics pro-

fessor today!

It’s A Great Time to

Major in Economics

It has been said that the

economics profession is

counter-cyclical: when

times are good, no one real-

ly needs us; in difficult

times, however, our opin-

ions are highly sought after.

I think the same can be said

for studying and majoring

(or minoring) in the Dismal

Science; currently we have

the perfect storm for eco-

nomics students to ponder.

And as we listen and learn

about the issues, we come

to a full understanding of

what it means to be an

economist.

So what is this so called

perfect storm? The govern-

ment shutdown, the debt

ceiling, and the pullback of

quantitative easing are the

tripartite of problems facing

our government specifically

and our economy in gen-

eral. Students in money

and banking and macroeco-

nomics are learning how

these problems are interre-

lated and how solving them,

both individually and col-

lectively, is a very difficult

task. Congress, the US

Treasury, the Federal Re-

serve, and the President all

have very important roles to

play in how these issues are

resolved. For students, this

is a golden opportunity to

learn how our economy

works and how the govern-

ment can make things better

or make things worse. It is

a perfect time to learn about

the intricacies and compli-

cated natures of monetary

and fiscal policies, and how

the political realities of our

country make agreeing on

policies difficult.

It is a great time to be an

economics major, because

From the Colonel’s Desk

Reaching out This is our sixth release of

Roanomics and it continues

to grow in popularity. Sev-

eral alumni have sent

emails or posted on social

networking outlets that they

enjoy reading through the

newsletter.

We are thrilled that

Roanomics is catching on

in this way. Reconnecting

with alumni was one of the

purposes of the newsletter.

If there is something that

you would like to see in the

next issue, send an email to

[email protected]

Remember that you can

keep up to date on the Eco-

nomics Program between

issues of Roanomics by

following our blog, kas-

sensroanokeecon.blogspot.c

om, which is updated sever-

al times a month, including

items on current students.

Roanoke College Economics Program

Summer and Fall 2013

Volume 4, Issue 1

Roanomics

Advising tips:

The Economics Program offers a major and a mi-nor

If you major in BUAD, there are only five addi-tional courses left to complete the minor in ECON

Several of the ECON 200-level courses serve as electives in BUAD concentrations

ECON 121 can substitute for an INQ 260

ECON 277 is a May Term course and ECON elective

Inside this issue:

News and notes 2

Student Editor’s note

3

Faculty update 4

Presentations, Awards, Honors

5

New faculty 6

Inside the class-room

8

Travels with Dr. Bob

9

Economics Club update

10

Word from the De-

partment Chair 11

Lowry Scholarship 12

Dr. Garry Fleming

Jay Laramore `10 earned his

MA in Applied Economics with

a concentration in Financial

Economics from the University

of North Carolina at Greensbo-

ro in May

The Roanoke College Fed Chal-

lenge Team (Greg Long `14,

Sean Walsh `14, Emma Webb

`15, Conrad Classen `15, Rob-

ert Altier `14, and Spencer

Lewin `14 (coached by

Michelle Crook)) became the

first team in College history to

make it to the second round of

the competition. They placed

2nd in the region to James Mad-

ison University. Read about the

experience here and we will

have extended coverage of the

event in the spring issue of

Roanomics.

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens was

2nd place in the Cengage

Learning/National Economics

Teaching Association “Best in

Class” Award honoring peda-

gogical techniques in econom-

ics

Emma Webb `15 was recently

offered an internship with the

US Trade and Development

Agency for the spring of 2014.

Dr. Ali Nazemi took over as

Chair of the Business Admin-

istration and Economics Depart-

ment this fall. We are looking

forward to an exciting future

with him at the helm.

Dr. Pablo Hernandez joined

the Roanoke College Faculty

this fall as an Associate Profes-

sor. Hernandez joins us from

Hollins University and will be

teaching a variety of courses

including one on environmental

economics.

The Virginia Association of

Economics will host their 2014

Annual Meeting at Roanoke Col-

lege March 20-21. The San-

dridge Lecture will be given by

Dr. William M. Rodgers III. To

find out more about the event

check out the new webpage.

Several economics students are

studying abroad this year includ-

ing Theodore Ellis `15 and Jona-

than Babington ‘15.

Dr. Robert Benne joined Dr.

Alice Kassens and several stu-

dents for the first meeting of the

Roanoke College Economics

Reading Group. Friedman’s Cap-

italism and Freedom was the

book covered. Find the discus-

sion questions here.

Please let us know what is new

with you at roanokee-

[email protected] or fill out our

form at kassensroanokee-

con.blogspot.com

News and notes

Where are our alumni now? Ian Kervick-Jimenez `13 Re-

search Intern at the Central

Bank of Peru

Jimmy McNeely `12 Retire-

ment Solutions Analyst at Mor-

gan Stanley

Kerry Murphy `13 Staff Ac-

countant at W Squared

Connect with Dr. Alice Louise

Kassens on Linkedin.com so

that we can keep up with you!

Have career advice or contacts

for our current Economics stu-

dents? Please send an email to

[email protected].

Matt Bolling `10 Amer ican

Homebrewers Association-

Events and Membership Coor-

dinator

Jay Laramore `10 Health

Economist with HealthSmart in

Charleston, WV

Anthony Brantley `10 Person-

al Banker at Bank of America

Giovanni Forte `11 Assistant

Vice President: Financial Solu-

tions Advisor at Bank of Ameri-

ca Merrill Lynch

Brunella Salazar-Gonti `13

Manager of Administration and

Public Policy at Roanoke Re-

gional Chamber of Commerce

Page 2 Roanomics

“My overall education at Roa-

noke College, and particularly

my economics education, pre-

pared me for dealing with the

extremely varied career and

educational experiences I have

had throughout my life”

-Roanoke College alumna `72

Give us your comments via

“Advice for our graduates” on

our blog and they might be in-

cluded in the next issue of

Roanomics!

38

There are

currently 29

declared majors

and 9 declared

minors in the

Economics

Program.

Declare yours

here

DID YOU

KNOW?

Jay Laramore

Kerry Murphy

I am thrilled to be the

new student editor of the

Roanomics Newsletter.

Working as Dr. Kas-

sen’s research and stu-

dent assistant has

brought a whirlwind of

new responsibilities. I

feel like I am much

more connected to the

Economics Department,

and I am thrilled to be

able to give back be-

cause the faculty in Eco-

nomics Department have

done so much for me.

I came to Roanoke Col-

lege two years ago

thinking I was going to

be a doctor; I was good

at science so obviously

being a doctor was my

destiny. I also signed up

for an Economics course

because I was curious

about and confused by

the events surrounding

the Great Recession. Af-

ter one semester in the

Economics Department,

I was sold. Last year I

combined my love for

economics with my love

with current events and

politics and declared a

double major in Eco-

nomics and Political

Science.

I’ve been doing research

on student wellness with

Dr. Kassens for a year

and a half now. This

summer I had the honor

of being Dr. Kassens’

Summer Scholar and we

created a comprehen-

sive, weighted, numeri-

cal Index to measure

undergraduate wellness

as part of the paper

“Undergraduate Well-

ness Index: Construction

and Implementation.” I

also defended the paper

as my Honors Project

for the Honors Program

this fall. This semester I

am continuing my well-

ness research in an at-

tempt to eventually cre-

ate a Roanoke College

wellness program.

Next semester I am stud-

ying in Washington DC

with the Lutheran Col-

lege Washington Semes-

ter Program. As part of

that program I will hold

a full-time internship at

the United States Trade

and Development Agen-

cy in the Public and

Congressional Affairs

Office. I am so excited

to explore real-life ap-

plications of Economics

and Political Science in a

globalized world.

Student Editor’s Note: Emma Webb `14

Page 3 Volume 4, Issue 1

Spring and May 2014 Courses

SPRING

ECON 121

Principles of Microeconomics

Hernandez, Nik-Khah

ECON 122

Principles of Macroeconomics

Fleming, Kassens

ECON 227

Health Economics

Kassens

ECON 232

Money and Banking

Fleming

ECON 247

International Trade and Fi-nance

Hernandez

ECON 322

Intermediate Macroeconomics

Fleming

ECON 461

Senior Seminar

Nik-Khah

MAY TERM

ECON 277 Experimental Eco-nomics

Nik-Khah

Emma Webb `15

My summer was full of teach-

ing, running, and research; the

fall has been equally productive

and is quickly coming to an

end.

In July took my annual trip to

Rutgers University/Heldrich

Center to work on an ongoing

research project with Dr. Wil-

liam M. Rodgers III. We have

an end in sight and hope to have

one of a series of papers sub-

mitted for publication in 2014.

Prior going to New Jersey I

taught a section of ECON 122

(Principles of Macroeconomics)

and continued a project from

the spring: using Twitter in the

classroom. I put a paper togeth-

er about the project and submit-

ted it for publication in Septem-

ber. You can read a draft of the

paper here. I am grateful to the

two great sections of ECON

122 who worked with me on

this project.

I have presented the Twitter

paper twice. In October I was

awarded a “Best in Class

Award” by Cengage and the

National Economics Teaching

Association. I was invited to

their conference in Austin, TX

to present the paper. This was

my first time at this conference,

but it is now an annual must. I

brought home some great new

ideas that I have already used in

the classroom and met some

wonderful new colleagues.

Part of the award was a $500

donation from Cengage to the

Roanoke College Business Ad-

ministration and Economics

Department. Dr. Ali Nazemi

(Department Chair) and I decid-

ed to donate the award to the

Lowry Scholarship in Econom-

ics. This scholarship is for a

rising senior in economics in

honor of economics professor

Dr. Darryl Lowry who passed

away suddenly in December

2006. More information about

the Lowry Award can be found

on the last page of this newslet-

ter.

I also presented the Twitter

paper at the 2013 Virginia

Council for Social Studies in

early November and made a

great connection with a local

high school. I am looking for-

ward to working on a service

learning project with them.

Finally, on November 13 I am

giving a presentation for the Ro-

anoke Regional Small Business

Development Center on the im-

pact of the health care bill on

small businesses. If you are in

the area you should consider

attending. The event was orga-

nized by Roanoke College Eco-

nomics Program alumna Brunel-

la Salazar-Gonti `13.

I am teaching Labor Economics

(ECON 267) and Econometrics

(ECON 448) this semester and

have great groups in both clas-

ses. Make sure you check out the

game we played in the labor

class on page 8. I hope to see

some of you in either my section

of Principles of Macroeconomics

or Health Economics next se-

mester. I am putting together a

May Term class for 2015: Eco-

nomic Journalism in Alaska.

Mark your calendars!

I will run my 10th marathon No-

vember 17th. Hopefully the

weather and my legs hold up!

Faculty Update: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Page 4 Roanomics

Alice Kassens

Click on the

presenta-

tion to see

all of the

slides.

Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Virginia Small Business De-

velopment Center (Roanoke,

VA), “Health Care Reform

and Your Small Business”,

November 2013

Virginia Council for the So-

cial Studies (Roanoke, VA),

“Using Twitter to Improve

#Writing, #Reflection, and

#Community”, November

2013

9th Annual Economics Teach-

ing Conference (Austin, TX),

“Using Twitter to Improve

#Writing, #Reflection, and

#Community”, October 2013

Roanoke College MCSP

Conversation Series, “Are

Virginians Healthy and Eco-

nomically Sound?”, April

2013

Presentations

Page 5 Volume 4, Issue 1

Spring 2013 Academic Honors

President’s List

Angela He

Emma Webb

Dean’s List

Maxwell Carroll

Theodore Ellis

Jeremy Peavey

Conor Fitzhenry

Cedric Moss

Cooper Sturr

Athletic Honor Roll

Maxwell Carroll

William Groth

Christopher Migliarese

Dr. Garry Fleming

“A Note on Measuring the

Stability of Industrial Sec-

tors”, presented to the Hawaii

International Conference on

Business, May 2013.

Emma Webb `15

"Measuring College Student

Wellness: More than Booze and

Biceps?", Showcase of Experi-

ential Learning

Publications & Awards Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Consumer Sentiment and Price Expectations in Virgin-ia. (2013) Salem, VA: Insti-tute of Policy and Opinion Research. (May, August)

PowerPoint Presentations to accompany Rudiger Dorn-busch, Stanley Fischer, and Richard Startz (2013), Mac-roeconomics, 12th edition, Chicago: McGraw-Hill/Irwin

Cengage Best in Class – Eco-nomics Instruction, 2nd place

($1,000, $500 for department, trip to NETA Conference in Austin, TX)

Charles Koch Foundation Educational Grant (funding the Roanoke College Eco-nomics Reading Group)

Emma Webb `15

Summer Scholar

Katie Thornton `13

Senior Scholar

Alpha Kappa Psi Key

Zach Birtsch `13

Outstanding Student in Eco-nomics

James Bradshaw `13

Omicron Delta Epsilon

Award

Ted Ellis `15

Lowry Scholarship

Bradshaw & Thornton

Nicole Zelnik

Emma Webb `15

William Groth `14

Cedric Moss

A Short Summary of Dr.

Hernandez’s Life:

Dr. Hernandez was born

in the states, but his fami-

ly moved to Mexico when

he was nine so his father

could take a job as a pro-

fessor. He lived there dur-

ing his youth and got his

undergraduate degree

from Universidad de las

Americas in Puebla, Mexi-

co. He came back to the

United States get his PhD

at the University of Notre

Dame.

He and his wife met in

Mexico. They got married

in 1997, and they now

have two children, Sofia

who is 11, and Andres

who is 9.

Where did Dr. Hernan-

dez work before Roa-

noke?

Dr. Hernandez first taught

as a visiting lecturer at

Indiana University, but

was immersed in getting

his dissertation completed

and therefore wasn’t as

involved in campus life

and advising. Then he

transferred to a position as

a visiting assistant profes-

sor at St. Mary’s College.

“I received a lot of men-

toring and good advice

from various former col-

leagues of mine at St.

Mary’s. They were of

course very well versed

professors.” Then Dr. Her-

nandez moved to Hollins

University, and had been

there for 6 years before

joining us at Roanoke. He

has also taught at La Uni-

versidad Iberoamericana

in Puebla, Mexico as a

visiting professor in envi-

ronmental and natural re-

source economics during

the summer of 2008.

How did Dr. Hernandez

choose economics?

Dr. Hernandez was fortu-

nate enough to have three

excellent professors and

mentors as an undergrad:

one in micro theory, an-

other in international econ

and trade from a macro

level, and a third mathe-

matical economist. He was

a little unsure about what

to do when he finished

college, and he worked for

a while for a for-profit

macroeconomics and fi-

nancial consulting firm.

Then he worked for half a

year as research assistant

to Professor Victor Ur-

quidi at El Colegio De

Mexico, and that sparked

his interest to achieve a

PhD. Professor Urquidi

knew a few faculty mem-

bers at Notre Dame, and

was able to help Dr. Her-

nandez’s transition to grad-

uate school in the states.

Dr. Hernandez feels lucky

that he’s had so much guid-

ance and support from his

professors throughout the

years, and looks forward to

returning that favor to stu-

dents at Roanoke College.

What is Dr. Hernandez’s

research specialty?

Dr. Hernandez studies

common pool resource

conservation in Mexico. He

is interested in studying

common pool resource

management in small com-

munities in Chiapas to un-

derstand how these small

communities organize

themselves to manage their

resources, both tangible

and intangible. These small

communities are very dif-

ferent from other larger

communities, and they tend

to resist local, state, or fed-

eral reforms that attempt to

bypass their distinctive

rules or approaches to sus-

tainable resource conserva-

tion practices or impose

standards or rules that con-

flict with sustainable re-

source use. Several nation-

al goals conflict with the

sustainability approaches

embraced by members of

New Faculty: Pablo Hernandez

Page 6 Roanomics

Dr. Pablo Hernandez

Hernandez family

Take one of

Dr. Hernan-

dez’s many

courses:

ECON 121

ECON 247

ECON 287

ECON 321

INQ 260

these communities, and

the communities resent

larger government mo-

tions because they have

been continuously mar-

ginalized throughout

history and they have

witnessed a steady en-

croachment into their

communities. But the

area is very important

for domestic and inter-

national investors and

policy makers because

the highlands of Chiapas

has an extensive bio re-

serve, is rich in mineral

deposits, and is close to

shale gas deposits.

Dr. Hernandez got into

this field by looking at

the economics of com-

mon property resources.

His inspiration in the

common pool research

field was Elinor Ostrom,

a famous American po-

litical scientist at Indi-

ana University and first

woman to win a Nobel

prize in economics for

her analysis of the gov-

ernance of the com-

mons. Common proper-

ty resource economics

studies polycentric ways

of managing resources,

and looks for descriptive

patterns in understand-

ing how individual deci-

sions can be made to

manage collectively

common access re-

sources.

Where can you find

Dr. Hernandez out of

school?

If Dr. Hernandez is not

at Roanoke College he is

likely at home with his

kids, or in Mexico doing

field research. His fami-

ly travels at least once a

year to Mexico to do

research and work, but

also for leisure and to

visit their families. In

the Roanoke Valley, Dr.

Hernandez likes to go

walking or hiking.

What is Dr. Hernan-

dez’s best piece of ad-

vice for students?

“Choose something you

like whether it’s a topic

for a paper, or a major,

or a first job, or intern-

ship, or a strategy to

take a test or improve

your grades. Do it be-

cause you personally

want to do it, and do it

well. Not to please oth-

ers. Put your heart and

mind into it. Lukewarm

isn’t enough. Be pas-

sionate. If you’re doing

it to please others, that

strategy won’t pay off in

the end. You’ll get frus-

New Faculty (Cont.)

Page 7 Volume 4, Issue 1

trated one way or the

other. Particularly when

it comes to research and

fields of study, and es-

pecially with graduate

school. Graduate school

is not necessarily a con-

tinuity from undergrad,

or meant to be because

your parents are telling

you to do it, or because

you want to circumvent

facing that first job in

life. You should go to

grad school because you

really want to go that

route and see what re-

search is about at that

level.”

“What makes a differ-

ence at the end of the

day is perseverance, part

of it is imagination and

skills and the ability to

convey things, but per-

severing is the big thing.

If you’re not fully in it,

you will find it harder to

persevere.”

By Emma Webb

FIVE THINGS YOU

MIGHT NOT KNOW

ABOUT DR. HER-

NANDEZ

1.His newest musical

addiction is Carole

King

2. One of his favorite

authors is Roald Dahl

3. He was a graduate

school classmate of

Dr. Nik-Khah at Notre

Dame

4. He hopes to one

day hike at least part

of the Appalachian

Trail

5. He loves The Sound

of Music

Hernandez family

Hernandez family

Economists refer to the differ-

ence in earnings between two

identical jobs save some nega-

tive attribute (risk, odd hours,

etc.) as a compensating wage

differential. In order for enough

people to supply their labor to

meet the demand for trash pick-

up, a premium must be paid to

everyone in the trash collection

market to draw them away from

other nicer-smelling job mar-

kets with similar job require-

ments.

Dr. Kassens’ Labor Economics

course (ECON 267) analyzed

compensating wage differen-

tials the first week of Novem-

ber.

After reviewing the theory and

working through a few numeri-

cal examples, the class played a

game illustrating the concept.

The game, inspired by

“Bobbing for Widgets: Com-

pensating Wage Differentials”

by Catherine Eckel et al. in a

2005 issue of the Journal of

Economic Education, split the

class into pairs; each had to

negotiate two jobs and how to

split $20 in six rounds.

In the first round, the two jobs

were file clerk (sorting cards

from ace to 10) and miner

(holding a book perpendicular

to the floor and pulling a piece

of paper with a red dot out of a

bowl without looking).

From there, the jobs were

changed slightly to see how

teams responded in terms of

negotiated job and wage. The

jobs in the remaining rounds

were as follows:

Round 2: Due to improved

technology, the duty of the

clerk has changed to tasting

candy.

Round 3: Politicians decree that

the two tasks require the same

skill and should be paid equally.

Round 4: OSHA determined

that mining is dangerous. Min-

ers must complete their job in

five seconds, otherwise neither

the clerk nor the miner get paid.

Round 5: Instead of mining for

coal, miners are saving sweet,

precious kittens from a certain

death. There is no time limit and

clerks are back to sorting cards.

Round 6: Due to a glut of coal

and no more kittens to be saved,

the government creates a job to

employ miners. They must go on

Main Street and dance like

Elaine Benes for six seconds

(and it will be recorded and post-

ed using Vine.) The government

believes that this job will in-

crease the happiness of all citi-

zens.

The average wage differentials

between miners and clerks by

round are shown in the graphic

below. Miners had to be paid the

most to do the “embarrassing”

job. Miners accepted $13.20 to

save the kittens suggesting that a

“hero” premium is a part of the

perceived total compensation.

One group was selected at ran-

dom to perform the tasks. Tim-

my Yuhas `14 was the lucky

student who performed the

“Benes” on Main Street which

you can watch here.

Who said learning can’t be fun?

Inside the Classroom: Labor Economics Game

Page 8 Roanomics

Alice Kassens

How much

would you

need to be

paid to do the

“Benes” on

Main Street in

Salem?

“Sweet fancy

Moses!”

-George

Costanza,

Seinfeld

This past spring we traveled

to Europe, starting in Ox-

ford—a multi-college town

about an hour’s bus ride from

London. Dr. Mark Miller ,

Roanoke College History

Department, has often trav-

eled there with student

groups. He provided us with

a detailed itinerary of the

town’s colleges, museums

and pubs.

My favorite pub was the Ea-

gle and the Child (known

locally as the “Bird and the

Baby”), once a hangout for

J.R. Tolkien (author of Lord

of the Rings) and located

near the Ashmolean-a sprawl-

ing, eclectic museum that

will drive you to drink.

I was disappointed to find

that English pubs do not dis-

pense draft IPA; yet the

British invented this highly

hopped brew to ship to their

troops in colonial India.

What’s up with that?

We took several great side

trips from Oxford: a day in

the charming villages of the

Cotswolds and a trip to the

opulent Blenheim Palace,

birthplace of Winston

Churchill. The Palace was a

gift from the Crown to the

Duke of Marlborough as a

reward for his victory over

the French at the battle of

Blenheim in 1704 (judging

from the reward, the French

army must have been more

formidable back then!).

Next, we traveled under the

channel via the chunnel to

Paris where we met up with a

group of my high school

friends (yes, a few are still

alive). We stayed at a small

hotel near the Montparness

Tower, a rather ugly high-rise

that somehow evaded the six

-story rule that pervades most

of Paris. We had a great time

doing the usual Paris things,

marred only by rainy weath-

er, a few surly waiters, and

hordes of tourists at the Pal-

ace of Versailles. We had

only one encounter on the

subway with the infamous

Paris pickpockets; they are

usually young teenagers who,

when caught by the police,

are immediately released

because of their age. Who

says crime doesn’t pay?

From Paris we took a three

day trip to Normandy region,

the highlight of which was a

visit to Omaha Beach and the

American Military Cemetery

there. It was a sober reminder

of the sacrifices made by

American forces in WWII.

After a few Social Security

checks refreshed my finances

(and I do thank you for your

S.S. “contributions” that you

make with every paycheck),

we travelled to one of the

most scenic national parks—

Glacier NP in northern Mon-

tana. Since the park was still

relatively crowded in late

August, our strategy was to

stay in resort towns adjacent

to the park: towns such as

Whitefish, Big Fork and Ka-

lispell. We were able to stay

within the park at Many

Glaciers Hotel, one of our

favorite places. Our best hike

started from there: a five mile

trek up to Iceberg Lake-a

small mountain lake filled

Travels with Dr. Bob

Page 9 Volume 4, Issue 1

with chunks of ice from a

nearby glacier.

Our best dining adventure

was at the Northern Lights

Saloon in Polebridge—an

“off-the-grid” village near

the Canadian border. The

clientele consisted of river

rafters, Duck Dynasty look-a

-likes, and persons who may

be in the witness protection

program.

We hope to return to Glacier

in a few years; it is one of the

crown jewels in the NP sys-

tem—right up there with Yo-

semite, Yellowstone, and the

Grand Canyon.

Locally,we made a few inter-

esting trips, including one to

the Greenbriar Hotel where

we toured the cold war bun-

ker. It is a decommissioned

fallout facility for Congress

in the event of nuclear war

(trust Congress to select a

five-star resort!).

Most recently we travelled to

Asheville,N.C. and made our

annual pilgrimage to the Mt.

Pisgah Inn (a biblical name

meaning “promised land”). It

is located about 15 miles

south of Asheville on one of

the most scenic stretches of

the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Every room has an incredible

view of the mountains . It’s

always reassuring when you

don’t have to endure airline

hassles or spend a fortune in

order to enjoy a great travel

experience.

Happy Travels, Dr. Bob

Bob and his wife Vicki at

Glacier National Park

Bob at Pointe du Hoc,

Normandy

Bob in Iceberg Lake,

Glacier National Park

Hello all!

The Economics club at Roa-

noke College has recently gone

under a change of management.

I was recently elected President,

by unanimous vote, by my fel-

low students. Conrad Classen,

last year’s President, is now

Vice President. Emma Webb is

still our secretary, which means

she keeps us all on track. Our

new treasurer is Caitlyn

Gaugler, a sophomore in the

program.

Elections aside, we were affect-

ed by the most recent govern-

ment shutdown. We had plans

to go to a conference in Wash-

ington DC; however, we also

wanted to be tourists in our

nation’s capital. Of course,

there is not much to see in DC

when many of the sights were

shut down, departments were

practically at a standstill, and

Congress could not agree on a

unifying budget. The budget

closed many social media out-

lets, the primary news outlet for

many students nowadays. The

government shutdown also af-

fected The National Zoo and

shut down its live Giant Panda

Cam; this broke the heart of

Giant Panda lovers nationwide.

Most importantly, many depart-

ments were ordered into an or-

derly shutdown, furloughing

many workers. Our nation’s

support system for services and

supports were crippled. Of

course, we must also consider

the many families that were

affected; overnight many could

not go to work the next day,

some could not expect to pay

their monthly bills, or even fig-

ure out a way explain to their

families what had happened.

It becomes a problem, to say the

least, when politics interferes

with the daily routine of gov-

ernment activities and our econ-

omy. The fingers can point to

anyone, but a government shut-

down was embarrassing. Con-

sider the fact that many interna-

tional students attending Roa-

noke College had planned to

visit Washington DC and ex-

pected to see the beauty of the

most powerful country in the

world. Instead, what was wit-

nessed was closed monuments

and overflowing trashcan. Inter-

nationally speaking, the most

powerful country in the world

has no excuse for the govern-

ment shutdown that will placate

the frustration of the American

people. From a humble RA’s

perspective, it was a bit embar-

rassing to have to explain to my

international residents as to why

the Smithsonian museums were

closed. Graciously, they took it

as a sign of the times and as an

observation of inconvenience.

I would also like to congratulate

two of my fellow majors and

Econ Club fans, Emma Webb

and Conrad Classen, and the rest

of the Fed Challenge Team on

their most recent Fed Challenge

competition. They made it to the

second round, the furthest any

Roanoke College Fed Challenge

Team has ever gone. Congratula-

tions guys! You’ll get them next

year!

Lastly, I would like to thank my fellow students for the privilege of being your Econ Club Presi-dent. I will represent the club colors of green and pink proudly! As always, Econ Club will con-tinue to meet, as often as possi-

ble, to be an open and fair forum for our opinions on the economy and Dr. Fleming’s stories.

Economics Club Update

Page 10 Roanomics

Zoe Richards `15, William Corso `15

Matt Nguyen

As most of you know, I took

over the chairmanship of the

Business Administration and

Economics Department. I

guess that’s what happens

when you are late to the

meeting at which they pick

the next chair. By the time I

got back they have already

assigned me bunch of new

duties. But seriously, I am

honored that the department

faculty trusted me with this

job.

So, as the new chair of the

department I want to take this

opportunity to welcome all of

our students to Business Ad-

ministration and Economics

programs and congratulate

you on your great choice of

college and major. I would

also like to invite our alumni

to take a more active role is

mentoring and helping our

students.

This year we are renewing

our focus on students’ aca-

demic and career success. To

that end, we have put forth

new initiatives to help stu-

dents to achieve higher aca-

demic performance and pro-

vide resources to better pre-

pare them for the life after

college. These initiatives

include:

Increasing the number of

Internship opportunities

Increasing the number of

short-term and long-term

Study Abroad programs

Creating an “Alumni-

Student Mentorship”

program

Providing “Student Men-

tors” to help underclass-

men with their academic

performance

Streamlining concentra-

tions to make them easier

to complete

Showcasing student and

alumni accomplishments

by recognizing outstand-

ing their work and their

contribution

Installing “Digital Sign-

age” to bring the most

current business and fi-

nancial news and trends

to the West Hall

Providing more oppor-

A word from the Department Chair

Page 11 Volume 4, Issue 1

tunity to participate in

Independent Study, Un-

dergraduate Research ,

and Honors in Major

Increasing the number of

social and academic

clubs and organizations

Increasing Social Media

presence to connect to

other students and alum-

ni

Placing more focus on

academic and career ad-

vising

I would like to encourage our

students to take advantage of

these opportunities and take

an active role in their aca-

demic and career success.

Please do not hesitate to stop

by my office to talk to me

about these opportunities

I look forward to meeting you

and hearing about your aca-

demic and career plans and

accomplishment.

Dr. Ali Nazemi

Chair – Business Administra-

tion and Economics

Dr. Ali Nazemi

Ref Ali Chef Ali

Stop in to see

Dr. Nazemi in

113 West Hall

“...Because we view economics as solidly within the liberal arts, we are

committed to examining the relationship between economics and other are-

as of knowledge. Students will therefore find it to be an excellent comple-

ment to many other majors, including, but not limited to public policy, soci-

ology, history, environmental policy, mathematics, biology, and business

administration, as well as concentrations such as gender studies and peace

and justice studies.”

For information about the Economics Program contact Dr. Garry Fleming

([email protected])

For comments or suggestions about the newsletter email

[email protected]

Read our blog: kassensroanokeecon.blogspot.com

Faculty Editor: Dr. Alice Louise Kassens

Student Editor: Emma Webb ‘15

221 College Lane Salem, VA 24153

Phone: 540-375-2426 Fax: 540-375-2577

E-mail: [email protected]

Economics Program

in Lowry's name inspired

Stauffer to set up the Lowry

Scholarship in Economics, the

recipient of which, when the

fund achieves endowed level,

will be decided upon by the

economics faculty.

Recipients of the scholarship:

2013-14 Theodore Ellis

2012-13 James Bradshaw

2011-12 Katherine Thornton

From the Roanoke College webpage:

Dr. Darryl W. Lowry, associ-

ate professor of economics,

devoted the past 25 years

instructing and nurturing Ro-

anoke College students,

"spending hours each day

carefully organizing his lec-

tures and meeting with stu-

dents," said Dr. Robert Stauf-

fer, associate professor of

economics. When Lowry

died on Dec. 31, 2006, after a

short battle with bone cancer,

the bereaved campus strug-

gled to find ways to honor the

man who had been so pas-

sionate about economics,

volleyball, and roller coast-

ers. The spontaneous dona-

tions that current and former

students and colleagues made

You can give to the Lowry Scholarship!

Simply go to https://www.roanoke.edu/give/

Select “Other”

Enter donation amount

In the “Details” blank type “Lowry Scholarship in Eco-nomics”

Thank you for your contribu-tion.

You are helping a young economist and honoring a wonderful man.

— The Roanoke College Eco-nomics Program

Give to the Lowry Scholarship

Follow us on Twitter @roanokeecon

Tell us what is new with you roanokeecon.blogspot.com

Join the BUAD/ECON Facebook page

Dr. Darryl Lowry