Position
Academic Background
Sample Courses   
Teaching Philosophy
Research & Interests   
Notable Academic Appointments & Awards
Publication Highlights   
Selected Scholarly Presentations

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• Associate Professor of Economics
• Chair, Department of Management
• MBA Program Director

Academic Background        

• University of Connecticut, CT:
  • Ph.D. in Economics, 1989
  • M.A. in Economics, 1984
• Bryant College, RI: B.S. in Economics, 1982

• Principles of Economics
• Honors Microeconomics and Macroeconomics
• Macroeconomic Analysis
• Urban Economics
• Managerial Economics (MBA program)

Teaching Philosophy

John Maynard Keynes said that economics "is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique which helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions."  My teaching philosophy is driven by that quotation. I seek to help my students acquire the necessary critical thinking skills to develop their ability to ask questions, to think logically and critically, and to apply those skills in the real world. Economics is a decision-making science and developing the ability to gather data, evaluate it, and make sound decisions is important to creating a well-informed citizenry.

But teaching economics is just fun. The subject is powerful and interesting and it's my job to show my students how it affects their lives. One of the nicest comments I've ever received on an evaluation came from a student in an honors section of introductory economics. She wrote: "I think that I understand economics a little better.  Before, economics equaled money and stocks to me, but I understand now that there is a little bit of economics in everything.  There is some economics in television ratings as crowds see their favorite sports players and actors on television.  Economics is even interested in the longevity of a cow, the amount of fish in a certain ocean area, in secret handshakes…" I think she got it.

Research & Interests

My primary areas of research are in urban economics and state and local finance. I am interested in public policymaking at the state and local level and how economics and politics often intertwine. Housing markets and education are my particular areas of interest.

• Faculty Senate President: 2008-2009; 2004-2006
• Teaching Innovations Program, AEA, NSF Grant (2006) 
• Faculty Senate Secretary (2001-2004)
• Chair, Department of Economics (1995-1999)

Publication Highlights

• "Foreclosures and Falling Home Prices," with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, Winter 2009.
• "Got Game? State's Fiscal Jackpot has Neighbors Seeing Green," with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, Winter 2008.
• "Oh, Give Me a Home…Where Schools Are Good, Taxes Are Low, and Property's Cheap," with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, Fall 2007.
• "Packing in the Poor: Poverty New England Style," with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, Spring 2007.
• "Local Budgets: An Uneven Squeeze," with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, pp. 7-8, 17, Summer 2005.
• "Zoning: Can a Barrier to Entry Open a Road to Educational Gains?" with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, pp. 4-5, Summer 2004.
• "CSI Connecticut," with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, pp. 10-13, Winter 2004.
• "The 1990s: When Yachts Rose Faster than Dinghies," with Dennis Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, pp. 7-8, Spring 2003.
• "Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Introductory Economics," in the Conference Proceedings of the Fourteenth Annual Conference on Teaching Economics: Instruction and Classroom Based Research, pp. 112-117, February 2003.
• "Zoning and Fiscal Interdependencies," with Dennis Heffley and Sajal Chattopadhyay, Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, 12: 221-234, 1996.
• "Cities With Suburbs," with S. Chattopadhyay and D. Heffley, The Connecticut Economy, p. 6, April 1995.

Selected Scholarly Presentations and Activities

• Teaching Innovations Program, American Economic Association, Santa Barbara, CA, May 2006.
• Fourteenth Teaching Economics Conference: Instruction and Classroom Based Research, Robert Morris University, February 2003, presented "Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Introductory Economics."
• 21st International Conference on Critical Thinking, Sonoma State University, July 2001.

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