Economics

Now in his tenth year at the College of Charleston, Dr. Mark Witte came to the College of Charleston after earning his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of North Carolina.

Dr. Witte has published numerous articles in international trade and international finance as well as other fields such as sports economics, labor economics and comparative economics. In 2013, he co-founded Sports Analytics Consulting, LLC which aids collegiate and minor league organizations via statistical analysis. In 2016, he became Director of the Master of Business Administration program. In addition, he works with the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce as part of their Economic Outlook Board.

In addition to his research and service, Dr. Witte teaches macroeconomics and international economics. He regularly works with undergraduates on research projects in sports and international economics.

Dr. Mark Witte

The Condon Award is given annually to the most outstanding student majoring in economics. The recipient is chosen by the economics faculty based on individual achievement. This year the faculty selected Victoria Drechsler and Elizabeth Mandell.

Victoria earned degrees in both Economics and Finance. She was a member of the College’s Women’s Golf Team and was selected to be a member of the Division 1 All-American Scholar Team for the past two years. A native of Munich, Germany, Victoria also speaks Italian and French. While at the College was a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society and the School of Business Investment Program.

Elizabeth graduated from the Honors College with a degree in Economics and a minor in Data Science, along with a Music Industry concentration. She was selected to be in the first cohort of Market Process Scholars for the Center for Public Choice & Market Process, and was been involved with the Center for nearly 4 years. Elizabeth was selected to be a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society. In addition to her interest in economics, she also loves music, and is the vocalist and rhythm guitar player in her smooth jazz band, Horizon.

Congratulations Elizabeth and Victoria!

For the second year in a row, the Department of Economics hosted a reception for alums and graduating seniors. On Saturday, May 6, 2017, about thirty faculty and graduates caught up over drinks and hors d’oevres immediately before this year’s A Charleston Affair. We hope to make this a tradition – the department plans to host a similar event in 2018.

David Ahnen, Elizabeth Mandell, Katherine Lawson and Peter Calcagno (from left)

Congratulations to the 23 Economics majors who graduated this spring!

On May 6, 2017, Professor Doug Walker welcomed the newest members of Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE), the Economics Honor Society. The following students were inducted:

• Samantha Curtin
• Avery Fine
• Holland Harvard
• Elizabeth Mandell
• James McDonald
• Simon Ruddock-Harris
• Hannah Wagner

Holland Harvard receives her ODE tassle from Doug Walker

This year’s Adam Smith Week may have been the best ever. From March 19th to the 24th, the Center for Public Choice and Market Process put together a fantastic program of events. Speakers included Virgil Storr (George Mason University), Bart Wilson (Chapman University), Sahar Akhtar (University of Virginia), Dwight Lee (The Independent Institute) and Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith (Chapman University). Even our alumni helped out, with Tori Schallot, David Seamans, Thomas Dugan and Jamie Johnson participating in a talk entitled “Why Major in Economics?”

For more details, check out this link: http://sb.cofc.edu/centers/publicchoice/programs-and-events/adam-smith-week/2017.php

On March 26, 2017 the Department of Economics Advisory Board met for the first time. The purpose of the Board is to contribute professional expertise and financial development to assist the Department Chair, faculty and students to develop, shape and accomplish the stated missions of the Department of Economics. Board members Thomas Dugan, Darryl Fyall, Jamie Fronckowiak, Graig Norden and Tori Schallot ratified the by-laws and discussed the state of the Economics Program.

The next meeting of the Board will be at 3pm on September 29, 2017.

Now in his third year at the College of Charleston, Dr. J. Wesley Burnett came to the College of Charleston from West Virginia University. Dr. Burnett is a CofC alum who went on to earn his PhD in Natural Resource and Environmental Economics from the University of Georgia.

Dr. Burnett’s research interests are in applying microeconomic theory to energy and natural resource markets and policy. In the past five years he has secured (often in collaboration with others) nearly eight hundred thousand dollars in external, competitively funded grants and cooperative agreements including the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Food and Agriculture. Additionally, he has published over a dozen manuscripts in peer-reviewed academic journals including Energy Economics and the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management.

In addition to his research, Dr. Burnett teaches two undergraduate courses of microeconomics and one graduate course in microeconomic theory applied to environmental policy. He is actively involved with numerous economic associations including the American Economic Association and the Southern Economic Association.

Dr. J. Wesley Burnett, CofC Class of 1999

On Saturday, April 30, 2016, the Department of Economics hosted a reception for alums and graduating seniors. About twenty-five faculty and graduates mingled and had drinks and hors d’oevres before heading over to the Cistern for A Charleston Affair. Everyone seemed to have a good time – look for the department to host a similar event in 2017.

Professor Mark Witte chats with alums Jamie Johnson and Hunter Nadeau (foreground).

The Condon Award is given annually to the most outstanding student majoring in economics. The recipient is chosen by the economics faculty based on individual achievement. This year the faculty selected Mary Frances “Frankie” Zeager.

Frankie graduated from the Honors College at the College of Charleston with a major in Economics and minors in Asian Studies and Mathematics. For the last two years she was selected to be a Market Process Scholar, representing the College of Charleston School of Business by interacting with the invited guests of the Center for Public Choice & Market Process. As a Scholar, she regularly participated in the Economics Book Colloquium and several weekend reading symposiums. She traveled with the program to Nashville and Washington, DC to learn more about various business CEOs and academic scholars to learn more about business and economic policy. Most recently, she presented her Bachelor’s Essay on “Regime Durability, Institutional Memory and Economic Freedom” at the Association of Private Enterprise Education Undergraduate Poster Session. She intends to continue to work on the project to publish it in an academic journal.

In addition, to being an excellent student she interned at the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. With a mind toward globalization, she spent multiple summers in China, and served as a volunteer ambassador for AFS International, an international exchange organization for high school students.

She was also involved in a variety of campus clubs and activities, including serving on the Dean’s Student Forum, the Micro-Finance Club, Rotaract Club, and the Alliance for Planet Earth.

She applied to and was accepted into several Ph.D. programs in Economics, as well as several Masters Programs in Data Science. She intends to pursue her graduate education in fall in UVA’s Data Science Program.

Congratulations Frankie!

Frankie Zeager receives the Condon Award from Economics Chair Calvin Blackwell