From the Chair
Greetings from Duke!
Another school year has ended, and once again we’re looking back on another year that was unlike any other. I’ve been impressed with how the Department has pivoted to rise to the challenge of hybrid instruction, remote learning, and building community at a time when it’s difficult to do so. I am thankful for the continued resilience and determination of our students, faculty, and staff.
A lot has happened since our last newsletter
This year we have spent a great deal of time studying how we can continue to improve the quality of our already excellent undergraduate program. One important innovation that we are introducing is our Mentors for Majors program. This program will allow students to explore options within the field of economics with a faculty mentor to guide them. It is the Department's hope that students will be well matched with a faculty mentor in a field that interests them and form a productive relationship during their time at Duke.
Our master’s programs continue to thrive. This year we launched a Master’s Alumni Advisory Board, which was formed in order to provide guidance on the current and future direction of our master’s programs. We’re grateful for all the alumni who have volunteered their time to this initiative. If you have questions about the board or need information, please contact Wendy Stocum.
Our Ph.D. program demonstrated consistent excellence again this year. I’m happy to announce that despite an incredibly challenging job market due to the pandemic and its implications for hiring in academia and the private sector, all of our Ph.D. graduates secured excellent jobs post-graduation. We’re proud of their accomplishments and are excited to see what’s next for them!
We also recently celebrated the class of 2021. While some of our students were able to celebrate in person, the Department wanted to make sure all of our graduates, from undergraduate to Ph.D., felt acknowledged, appreciated, and celebrated. Below, you will find a video from faculty, students, and staff that we hope does all these things. We were also lucky enough to have Duke Econ alum Fred Ehrsam, of Coinbase and Paradigm, record a special message for our graduates. You can find Fred’s message beginning at 7:56 in the video. A big thanks to Fred for helping us out!
This year we are celebrating two big faculty milestones within the Department. Professor Edward Tower is retiring after 47 years of service, and Professor Marjorie McElroy recently completed 50 years of service with the Department. Please join me in congratulating both of them for these momentous accomplishments!
Finally, we’re excited to announce the addition of two new assistant professors that we hired this year. Bocar Ba will join the faculty as of July 1, 2021 and Emily Cuddy will be joining us in 2022. We also hired Quitze Valenzuela-Stookey for the next academic year as a postdoc. Stay tuned for a more complete introduction to Bocar, Emily and Quitze coming in the next edition of the newsletter.
The alumni newsletter is our way of helping you stay connected with the Department and the Duke Economics community. If you have a question or suggestion for the newsletter — or would like to share what you've been up to — please get in touch. We are always happy to hear from you!
