The Department of Economics recently received a significant contribution from the Lebherz Family Foundation. This multi-year grant of $750,000 will support key Department efforts to provide both undergraduate and graduate students with valuable learning opportunities, resources, and experiences related to the field of Economics. Grant funds will be used to support four areas within the Department:

• In the area of Educational Opportunities, funding will support resources such as student scholarships and guest speakers for the Friday Afternoon Workshop Program. Grant funding has already supported a variety of sessions including a lecture by Dr. Andrew Chang, senior economist at The Federal Reserve, who presented his research paper “Measurement Error in Macroeconomic Data and Economics Research.”
• Funding for the Provocative Lecture Series will support interactive workshops and mentoring for career development, as well as allow for visiting scholars. Recent sessions supported by the grant include “Climatopolis: How Our Cities Will Adapt to Climate Change” (by Dr. Matthew Kahn from the University of Southern California) and “Humans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth and Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence” (by Jerry Kaplan, a fellow at Stanford University’s Center for Legal Infomatics).
• Academic Research Group funding will assist faculty members and students with examination of topics that relate to economics, entrepreneurship, and how public policy might affect human well-being.
• Additional grant resources will support faculty members through teaching assistants, summer grants, and funding for faculty-selected projects.