Department of Economics

Congratulations to SJU Economics Alumni Jarrett Hurms ('18), Irena Kondrat ('22), and Nicholas Chingas ('16) on being recognized as SJU's 30 under Thirty!  Please read more about these and other amazing alumni and there accomplishments here.

The Department of Economics is honored to host this year's Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar, Dr. Trevon Logan from Oct. 23-Oct. 24.  Dr. Logan is an economic historian at The Ohio State University, and will be giving a keynote lecture on Oct. 23 at 4pm in the Teletorium followed by a reception.  There are several other opportunities to meet with him and join in discussion with faculty and colleagues during his visit.  Contact Dr. Crispin to learn more.

Dr. Laura Crispin (economics) and Dr. Laura Bucci (political science) host "Barbie in the Workforce," co-sponsored by the Department of Economics and the Women's Center.  Join us on 11/14 in the Women's Center as we discuss women in the workforce, using examples from Barbie's timeline.  This event will be fun and engaging and is sure to spark some interesting discussions. 

Zoe Hoag '23 completed her honors capstone project in Economics.  Hoag's research project  titled "The Effect of the 2011 'VOW to Hire Heroes' Act on Veterans' Labor Market Outcomes"  stemmed from her work at the Veteran's Office at Saint Joseph's University.  Her paper was the first to study the effect of VOW, a major federal policy, on labor force participation and unemployment of veterans.  She found that the policy was effective at increasing labor force participation, but there were no effects on unemployment.  Following graduation, she is attending Temple University for law school.  To learn more about the honors program, see https://www.sju.edu/honors-program.

The Department of Economics is pleased to add three new courses for Fall 2023!  Dr. Nancy Fox will teach Economics of Food (ECN485) as a service-learning course, first teaching students about the economics of the food industry, then moving to policy discussion and connecting to social justice.  Dr. Jerry Hionis will teach Economics of War & Conflict (ECN471) as a special topics course, using economic theories and case studies to explore global conflict.  Finally, we will be offering ECN290, a one-credit professional prep seminar designed to help our students with their job search.

The Department of Economics just launched a new major:  Bachelor's of Science in Quantitative Economics.  Students pursuing a B.S. in Quantitative Economics will take the same core as students earning the traditional B.A. in Economics, including introductory and intermediate micro- and macroeconomics.  B.S. majors will then take required coursework in econometrics, and upper division quantitative economics electives such as environmental economics and international macro, preparing them for careers in analysis or research, along with graduate school in economics and related fields.

The Department of Economics hosted Dr. Amanda Griffith as our Distinguished Guest Lecture in April 2023:  Dr. Griffith's lecture "The Bumpy Pathway to STEM: A Discussion of Potential Mechanisms for Underrepresentation in STEM" focused on her research on the causes and consequences of underrepresentation of minority and female students in STEM fields.  Her work also provided discussion of potential policies to reduce barriers and increase pathways for underrepresented groups.  

Economics Alum Turns Passion for Name, Image and Likeness Into a Career:  Noah Henderson '20 works with startup Student Athlete NIL to advocate for student-athletes while studying law at University of Illinois.  He "fell in love with economics at Saint Joseph’s where he learned to think critically and set himself up for law school."

Brandon Gergel from the Economics class of 2013 (and M.S. International Marketing Class of 2015).  He is working as a playwright and producer of a multilingual theater company in Taipei, Taiwan.  “Love, a/Verse” ran from August 19-26 at Thinkers’ Theatre on Dihua Street, Taipei, as part of the Taipei Fringe Festival.