UW College of Business Celebrates 50th Anniversary of Economics Ph.D. Program

Alumni, faculty and students celebrated the University of Wyoming College of Business’ 50th anniversary of its economics Ph.D. program with a series of events Sept. 15-17.

The weekend kicked off with a presentation by Min Gong, the science lead for Amazon Seller Fee, who earned her UW doctorate in economics in 2007. Gong leads a team responsible for scientific support in fee-related decisions, overseeing more than $100 billion in economic modeling, causal inference, machine learning and decision science.

Alumni and faculty members later attended a dinner to view old dissertations, photos and correspondence and to remember past economics faculty members. Attendees also had the opportunity to see a historical exhibition, featuring a series of letters and other memorabilia from the 1970s. The letters humorously, yet earnestly, requested a modest sum of $200 to help fund the fledgling Ph.D. program. The exhibition served as a lighthearted reminder of the program’s humble beginnings.

The program’s alumni participated in a symposium, presenting their work in government, industry and academia. Paul Turner, senior vice president of Hecate Energy, who earned his doctorate in economics at UW in 1996, presented his work at the symposium. He praised the foresight that the economics department and dean had in the early 1970s to set up a Ph.D. program that would focus on environmental and natural resource economics -- a topic that has since moved into mainstream economic thought.

“The fact that so many returning alums said they were returning home speaks to the program’s ability to set and achieve high academic standards while also creating a supportive and collaborative culture that builds lifelong professional and personal relationships,” says Todd Cherry, director of the graduate program.

Since its inception, UW’s economics Ph.D. program has grown, in part, due to the generosity of its alumni. The program now supports world-class research, conferences and workshops and offers numerous opportunities for graduate students. The program currently is ranked in the top 1 percent of economics Ph.D. programs worldwide, according to IDEAS/RePEc.

For more information about UW’s economics Ph.D. program, visit www.uwyo.edu/economics.