Western Michigan University Department of Economics

05/02/2026

Congratulations to our graduating MA students! An amazing group.

04/08/2026

Please join us in congratulating our newest PhD! Yesterday, Bisrat Woldesilassie successfully defended his dissertation, "Effectiveness of Monetary Policy Communication: Evidence from Textual Analysis of Daily Newspaper Articles."

Bisrat is currently a Senior Model Validation Analyst at Columbia Bank in Portland, Oregon.

We thank Bisrat's dissertation committee: Dr. Matthew Higgins (Chair), Dr. Eskander Alvi, and Dr. Kevin Corder.

Congrats, and best of luck in your career!

03/25/2026

Today is WMU's Giving Day.
As a reminder of the great students this department gets to work with, I want to introduce you to our 2026 Presidential Scholar Braydon Zupin. Braydon was accompanied to the last Friday's Presidential Scholar award reception with Dr. Susan Pozo.

Congrats to Braydon on his excellent work here at WMU.

03/23/2026

Wednesday is Giving Day at Western Michigan University!
Take a minute to hear directly from our students about why they chose economics—and where they’re headed next.

Their stories are exactly why we do what we do. With your support, we can continue to provide scholarships, research opportunities, and real-world experiences that shape their futures.

Every gift makes a difference.
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03/05/2026

A great program for incoming WMU students run by our very own Dr. Susan Pozo. Please tell everyone you know who has a student starting at WMU in the fall about this course. ECON1020 counts toward a large number of degrees on campus!

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12/19/2025

Proud that our own Dr. Rodrigo Aranda, Assistant Professor of Economics, gave the Lee Honors College Fall 2025 Honors Instructor Breakfast talk last week. Rodrigo spoke on "Teaching with AI: Practical Strategies to Boost Engagement and Outcomes."

Rodrigo is a leader in AI at WMU and recently received a WMU Office of Faculty Development Instructional Development Grant to develop an open-source Socratic AI tool designed to support student learning in economics courses. The goal of the project is to explore how AI can be used in a transparent, ethical, and equitable way to help students reason through course material, rather than serving as a substitute for their own work.

12/17/2025

Congrats to WMU Economics major Dawson Caswell for winning the 2025 Laham Legacy Scholarship from the WMU College of Arts and Sciences. You are deserved winner of this award.

12/12/2025

Next in our great group of Lee Honors College graduates is Esperance Zuena, who defended her thesis, "The impact of Oil Industry in Texas from 2010-2023." Esperance graduates tomorrow with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics with minors in Statistics and General Business. Esperance has a career in economic development ahead of her, and already has a job lined up!

Congrats Esperance. Please keep in touch. We know that great things are ahead of you!

12/11/2025

Please join us in congratulating Parker Lammers. He is the recipient of the 2025 Charles C. and Lynn Chen Zhang Undergraduate Prize in Economics. This award goes to the senior economics major with the highest overall GPA as determined at the end of their junior year.

Parker is graduating on Saturday with a BBA in Economics and a minor in Entrepreneurship. He is currently the owner of Blue Vista Marine Services in Newaygo, Michigan.

Congrats Parker, and best of luck in the future. Keep us updated on all you do.

11/11/2025

Hi everyone,

This Friday (November 14) we will host our last Economics Seminar of the Fall semester. We’ll have Dr. Susan Pozo from our department presenting her paper titled “Beyond the Diamond: Human Capital Impacts of Baseball Role Models on Dominican Children.” The seminar will take place at noon in Dunbar 4433.

Thank you for attending and supporting the Friday Economics Seminar throughout the semester. I hope to see you there!

10/03/2025

Please join the department in honoring Emily Hawrysz (BBA '09) as the recipient of the 2025 Department of Economics Alumni Achievement Award. Emily will be giving a brief talk (with meet/greet and reception to follow) on Friday, October 10 at 2:30 pm in Dunbar 4433. We look forward to seeing you on Friday.

More on Emily:
Emily currently serves as Sr. Director of Strategic Transformation at the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB), a not-for-profit organization chartered with preventing and investigating insurance crime. In her role, Emily directly supports the Chief Operating Officer and NICB Senior Leadership in strategic oversight of field operations, data analytics and intelligence production, membership engagement, and training.

Immediately prior to joining NICB, she served 12 years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – starting as an Honors Intern during her Junior Year at WMU and advancing to Senior Advisor to the Assistant Director in Charge of the Washington Field Office (WFO). Her roles varied from IT Portfolio Management to Transnational Organized Crime Program Management, all of which provided welcome challenges in furthering the organization's mission.

Emily graduated Suma Cum Laude from WMU in 2009 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Economics, which provided her with critical foundational skills that continue to serve her in her career. She was also a member of the Lee Honors College. In December 2024, Emily completed her Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, having been selected as a Drake Scholar in recognition of her commitment to advancing women in leadership roles.