The Heckscher lecture has been given annually since 2003 by a list of distinguished economists, including two Nobel Laureates. It is named in honor of Eli Heckscher (1879-1952), known to most economists for the Heckscher-Ohlin theorem in international trade, who was the founder of economic history in Sweden.
Professor Richard Langlois has won the Alice Hanson Jones Prize for his recent book The Corporation and the Twentieth Century: the History of American Business Enterprise (Princeton University Press, 2023).
The prize, announced on September 7 at the 2024 meeting of the Economic History Association, the professional society of economic historians, is awarded every other year for an outstanding book on North American economic history.
The Corporation and the Twentieth Century was also a finalist for the George R. Terry Book Award of the Academy of Management.
Jim Lowe, Associate Vice Provost and Executive Director of Career Center, presented the Award.
UConn Center for Career Development hosted the 2024 Career Everywhere Recognition & Celebration Event on May 1, 2024. The event was filled with enthusiasm and camaraderie, fostering meaningful connections among Career Champions in attendance. There are nearly 1,000 dedicated UConn Career Champions (faculty, staff, and employers) who tirelessly support our students in their journey toward post-graduation success.
The nominations for several awards given by the Career Center were solicited from students, faculty, and staff. Professor Smirnova received the inaugural Career Competency Innovation Award.
Nancy Bilmes, Director of the Career Center, described Professor Smirnova’s innovations as aligning course syllabi with NACE career competencies, integrating career readiness modules across their courses on HuskyCT, designing assignments focused on career competencies, presenting at national and regional conferences, and conducting impactful research on the impact of career-focused assignments on students’ knowledge acquisition within their chosen fields. Natalia’s approach to embedding career development into her teaching not only equips students with essential skills but also demonstrates a commitment to fostering holistic growth and success beyond the classroom.
Professor Smirnova’s work on students’ career competencies’ development is documented in her teaching portfolio.
Professor Smirnova was selected to receive 2024 Thomas E. Recchio Faculty Coordinator Award for Academic Leadership for her work with the Early College Experience Program.
This award recognizes a University of Connecticut faculty member serving as the UConn Early College Experience Faculty Coordinator for their discipline in an exemplary or unique fashion.
With over 50 UConn ECE Faculty Coordinators, there is a very competitive nomination pool every year, and the review committee is challenged to identify the top candidates.
In addition to day to day work of innovation, inspiring and empowering ECE Economics instructors at our partner schools throughout the state, and promoting University of Connecticut resources that enhance UConn Early College Experience, Dr. Smirnova received a very strong nomination from the ECE Economics instructor, Colleen Peling from William Hall High School in West Hartford, making it clear that Natalia was a top candidate.
Economics is the biggest UConn ECE cohort with 58 ECE certified Economics instructors representing 42 different partner high schools across the state.
The ECE Office and all ECE Economics instructors from UConn partner schools congratulate Dr. Smirnova on this respected professional achievement and commend her for the steadfast dedication to UConn, all ECE students and Instructors, and the UConn Early College Experience Program.
Matthew Dalzell (’25) (left) receives a participation certificate at the NYSEA annual conference on October 21, 2023. NYSEA officials from left to right: Dr. Platt, President, SUNY Old Westbury, Dr. MacDonald, Vice President, CUNY College of Technology, and Dr. Ikwueze, Board of Directors, CUNY Queensborough.
Matthew Dalzell’s (‘25) research paper “The Impact of Privately Owned Buses on Carbon Dioxide Emissions in Connecticut”, written in the Spring 2023 during the ECON 3431W Public Economics course taught by Professor Smirnova at the Stamford campus, was accepted for presentation at the New York State Economics Association (NYSEA) as part of the undergraduate papers competition.
On October 21, 2023, Matthew Dalzell (‘25) presented his research to a panel of judges among seven undergraduate papers that were selected.
The submitted research papers are judged in two rounds. The first round consists of the assessment of quality of papers by judges, who are professors of economics, finance, and business at various universities-members of NYSEA. From a dozen submitted undergraduate papers, seven were selected for the second round and invited to present at the conference.
The second round, which consists of paper presentation, was held as part of the NYSEA annual conference. This year, the conference was held on the campus of SUNY Old Westbury on Long Island, NY. Seven selected papers were presented at an open forum in front of the panel of judges as well as of other conference attendees (professors, professionals, and graduate students). Within this round, the presentation skills, and the ability to defend one’s research were assessed.
Matthew Dalzell (’25) provided a thorough presentation and answered many questions from judges and audience as he passionately talked about the impact of transportation industry on climate change. He put forward several policy ideas about mitigation of CO2 emissions in Connecticut.
The exposure of undergraduate students to outside audiences as they present their research helps them develop such career competencies as professionalism, communication, and self-development.
Dr. Smirnova (left) and Dr. Tropp, Director of Academic Affairs & Associate Director of the Stamford Campus, during the Award Ceremony in Stamford, October 10, 2023
Every year, UConn Stamford campus administration recognizes two faculty members and a staff member for their contribution to the campus community. This year, Dr. Smirnova from the Department of Economics was one of the Faculty Recognition Award recipients.
This award is given annually to a faculty member who made significant contributions through their scholarly activities or service benefiting the University community. Recipients demonstrate high standards for academic achievement, sincerity and enthusiasm in teaching, relate classroom learning to real life situations, motivate students to excel, and respect students’ opinions.
On October 10, 2023, Dr. Tropp, Director of Academic Affairs & Associate Director of the Stamford Campus, presented the Award and shared commendations from multiple students.
“Dr. Smirnova is an innovative, enthusiastic professor who nurtures creativity and stimulates critical thinking and self-reflection within her students. She strives to engage her students by employing active learning techniques, team-based learning, and real-world application of course topics. She helps students to embark on their career exploration early on by inviting alumni/employers into the classroom to give students information firsthand from industry experts.”
“Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to engage in Dr. Smirnova’s classes and experiential learning initiatives at UConn. She has made a profound impact on who I am as a student, and my future career path.”
Greenwich High School team featured in the Journal of Future Economists, 2023, FRBNY: page 78.
During 2022-2023 academic year, Greenwich High School students enrolled in the Early College Experience (ECE) Economics courses taught by Mr. Ian Tiedemann participated in the High School Fed Challenge, which is an academic competition where teams of students act as future economists. The competition is administered by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and offers the opportunity for students to develop skills in teamwork, research, data literacy, and analytical writing. Student teams author economics research and pursue recognition in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Journal of Future Economists.
In June, the announcement of the winners of the essay content came out, and we learned that Greenwich HS team is one of the winners! Their essay “It’s a (s)Mall World: Globalization, E-Commerce, and Shopping Malls” is included in the Journal of Future Economists, 2023: pp. 78-91.
We congratulate the team of students: Ambika Grover, Ryan Kaufman, Cindy Li, Max Lu, Amrutha Nandakumar, Charles Andrew Miranda, Nicole Orlofsky, and Elliott Gordon.
We congratulate their teacher, certified ECE Economics instructor, Mr. Ian Tiedemann.
Through the Office of Early College Programs, the Economics Department works closely with 58 UConn ECE certified Economics instructors representing 42 different partner high schools across the state. In 2022-2023 academic year, 785 students were enrolled in 64 UConn Economics courses (ECON 1000, 1201, 1202). Since some students take more than one course, there were 1225 total enrollments.
The impact on students who take Early College Experience (ECE) Economics courses is manyfold. They get acquainted with the academic rigor of CLAS, gain familiarity with the University as a whole, and publicize the prominence of UConn across the nation and around the world when gaining acceptance to institutions of higher education.
ECE students’ success reflects positively on the University of Connecticut, as these students continue to prosper throughout the country at the various universities and colleges they attend. Their continued success is indicative of their college readiness in part due to their enrollment in the UConn ECE program.
Since 2017, a member of the Honors Program faculty or staff is awarded the distinction and recognition for outstanding advising. This honor is determined by nominations submitted by Honors students, providing them the opportunity to share their experience and the positive impact of the faculty or staff member they have nominated.
This award recognizes outstanding contributions to undergraduate advising by faculty or staff members to Honors Program students. Nominees for this distinction have significantly exceeded expectations by providing exceptional undergraduate advising experiences to Honors students. This fund was established by Dr. Lynn Goodstein and Dr. Peter Langer, who both have strong ties to UConn Honors. The late Lynn Goodstein served as the Associate Vice Provost and Director from 2002 to 2012, and her husband, Peter Langer is a graduate of the inaugural Honors Program Class of 1968.
On April 13, the department convened for an awards banquet that recognized the best among undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty. This year’s award recipients are:
Undergraduate Awards
Economics Department General Scholarship
Pin Lyu
Justin Wu
Kathryn A. Cassidy Economics Scholarship
Solaiman Chowdhury
Annaliesa Wood
Rockwood Q. P. Chin Scholarship
Lila Pickerign
Stratton Stave
Ruoqi Wang
Qiaozhi Zhou
Ziyun Zhou
Louis D. Traurig Scholarship
Aidan Adams
Erik Choi
Ian Ferguson
Nadine Fernando
Sophia Lemirei
Paul N. Taylor Memorial Prize
Colman Tokar
Julia & Harold Fenton and Yolanda & Augustine Sineti Scholarship
Annelise Montuori
Charles Triano Scholarship
Summer Beebe
John Doran
Dr. Joseph W. McAnneny Jr. Scholarship
Adem Aksoy
Dylan Champagne
Keven Coşgel
Eleanor Gross
Anthony Ho
Shuhan Jiang
Isabella McClure
Ross Mayer Scholarship
Jackson Bright
Virag Korniss
Graduate Awards
Albert E. Waugh Scholarship
Miranda Mendiola Valdez
W. Harrison Carter Award
Matthew Brown
Victor Volkman
Abraham Ribicoff Graduate Fellowship
Abdulmoshen Almuhaisen
Timothy A. and Beverly C. Holt Economics Fellowship
Satadru Bhattacharyya
Xiaofeng Gong
Phillip Hwang
Shangyue Jiang
Meng Song
Feifan Wang
Xinrui Wang
Nidhi Nair in Oak Hall (Sydney Herdle/UConn Photo)
Economics undergraduate student Nidhi Nair has been featured in UConn Today as the university's first-ever recipient of the prestigious Schwarzman Scholar award.
Nair is an honors student double-majoring in economics and mathematics-statistics and was selected from more than 3,000 applicants to join a cohort of 150 other Schwarzman scholars from around the world in Beijing to complete a one-year master's degree. Recipients of this award are selected on the basis of leadership abilities and potential to bridge political and cultural differences.
Nidhi Nair founded last year's Invisible Hand Economics seminar series and is the president of the UConn Economics Society, as well as being involved in the Women and Minorities in Economics organization here at UConn. Nair has worked on multiple economics research projects here at UConn, and has completed several research and advocacy focused internships at different organizations.
Nair noted the support of her Honors advisor, Economics Professor Richard Langlois in her interview for UConn Today: "Dr. Langlois has also been a source of support and has provided invaluable advice on carving out a strong career in economics that advances my interests in socioeconomic mobility and microeconomic analysis."
Professor Richard Langlois has won the 
Professor Langlois received the 2023 
