UW Oshkosh Economics

05/15/2026

To our economics and analytics graduates, congratulations!!

Looking at the list of names graduating Saturday, we remember that many of you started in the pandemic — it has been a strange and crazy journey. And you made it!

We are really proud of each and every one of you. As you likely know from your (many) statistics projects, the proportion of the population of Wisconsinites with a college degree is just about 33%. It is a huge accomplishment to join their ranks.

And we're always here for you in the future if you need letters of recommendation, advice on graduate school, or long-winded opinions on inflation and the price of gas.

Congratulations again and good luck!

Professors Artz, Engelhardt, Fuller, Haley, Johnson, Kovzik, Siemers and Van Scyoc.

05/06/2026

Rounding out this year's Economics awards is James Rhines. James received our Outstanding Research Project of the Year Award recognizing his work on two major projects.

James's econometrics study examined the factors that affect the amount of time a politician spends in the United States Congress. With no term limits in Congress, members of Congress can be re-elected indefinitely. While some view a lack of term limits as developing knowledgeable and experienced representatives, others argue incumbency results in representatives losing touch with their constituents. Understanding the factors that influence the length of a politician’s tenure aids in our view of a legislator’s capacities, responsiveness to constituents, and the balance of power within Congress.

James is also working on a PAGE funded student-faculty research grant at the intersection of economics and philosophy. This project considers James M. Buchanan's theorizing on academic freedom and free speech as related to the current environment. Stay tuned to hear more about the findings!

05/06/2026

Congratulations to our Rookie of the Year, Ryne Panzer. Ryne is an economics and accounting double major who just claimed a second spot on the wall! He previously won an award for the best research project of the year. Ryne's project looked at how school district civil liberties policies varied in relation to community educaiton, income, and politics. He presented his work at Research in the Rotunda and Celebration of Scholaship in Spring 2024.

05/06/2026

Still looking for an economics elective in the fall? Interested in why we're still debating tariffs after 300 years? Wonder if your grreat grandparents were socialists (probably)...check out EC 312.

05/06/2026

Many congratulations to this year's Outstanding Economics Major, Matt Wydeven! In addition to an amazing GPA across all his courses, Matt has excelled in economics, earned a degree with honors, and completed our Sports Analysis certificate. He's also a founding leader of UWO's Pickleball club.

04/24/2026

Congratulations to Grace Riedl for earning an award for the best course-based research presented yesterday at Celebration of Scholarship at UWO. Grace's project originated in Econometrics (EC 473) taught by Dr. Siemers and Dr. Fuller.

And congratulations to James Rhines for earning the Frederick R. and Bertha C. Clow Research Award in the Social Sciences. Note that Dr. Clow was an economist who taught at UW Oshkosh from 1895 to 1930, making the award is especially fitting.

04/23/2026

Celebration of Scholarship at UWO today! We are so proud of our students Grace Riedl and James Rhines for the work!

James gave an oral presentation on his project examining “James M. Buchanan, Constitutionalism, and Academic Freedom.” Special thanks to the School of Public Affairs and Global Engagement (PAGE) for funding James's project.

Grace presented her Econometrics project, “Reevaluating Educational Access: COVID-19’s Impact on Higher Education Enrollment Among Low-Income Students in Wisconsin Public Schools.”

James also presented his Econometrics project from last fall on "The Politics of Staying: How Political, Demographic, and Economic Factors Shape Congressional Careers.”

A special thank you to Drs. Sarinda Siemers and Dave Fuller for overseeing their projects.

04/01/2026

Dr. Fuller talks gas prices and the economy for NBC26.

Filling up at the pump, I got to thinking. If the U.S produces their own oil, why are gas prices going up? I reached out to a University of Wisconsin Oshkosh professor as to why that is the case.

03/11/2026

Economics Major James Rhines presenting his work at Research in the Rotunda today in Madison. James's econometrics project examined the factors that affect the amount of time a politician spends in the United States Congress. With no term limits in Congress, members of Congress can be re-elected indefinitely. While some view a lack of term limits as developing knowledgeable and experienced representatives, others argue incumbency results in representatives losing touch with their constituents. Understanding the factors that influence the length of a politician’s tenure aids in our view of a legislator’s capacities, responsiveness to constituents, and the balance of power within Congress.

Thank you Drs. Dave Fuller and Sarinda Siemers for overseeing such an interesting project.

11/05/2025

Yay Dr. Kovzik!

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