Giving Opportunities

These opportunities for giving are critical to achieving continued success but are not listed in order of priority. In addition, we are always willing to listen to your suggestions or projects. Here are some identified needs.

Unrestricted annual giving provides the Economics Department Chair with the most flexibility in meeting the needs of the department. Both unrestricted annual donations, allocation #2970, and unrestricted endowment donations, allocation #3240, of any amount are appreciated.
We currently have a faculty Seminar Series that brings in scholars from universities, government agencies, and the private sector to discuss cutting edge work in Economics. We pay the expenses of speakers, but none get an honorarium. With an endowment of $100,000, the Seminar Series will continue, and we can invite an Economist “Superstar” each year for a public lecture and smaller meetings with students, providing a great opportunity for students and the College community to interact.
Endowed and Supplemental Professorships would be welcomed with enthusiasm. Supplemental Professorships enhance our ability to recognize, with a salary supplement and research fund, some of our most productive scholar/teachers. This helps to attract and retain high-quality faculty and gives younger faculty an incentive to work to their potential. The donation of a fully endowed Professorship, and it would need to be a substantial donation, could help take us to new levels, because this represents a new position, a new distinguished faculty member. If we could supplement our existing strengths, such as Environmental Economics and International Economics, among others, or add a new but critical field, such as Financial Economics, this would be a donation that could transform the department.
Scholarship donations are also welcome. We have two merit-based scholarships for Economics majors, the Terry Glenn Memorial Scholarship and the Ross L. and Marian Y. Goble Scholarship. The number of recipients has increased each year. Because of a generous donation from an anonymous donor honoring professors Robert Archibald and David Finifter we were able to award scholarships to two additional students.
Library holdings are always an issue with Economics. Swem Library has been strained in recent years, and more and more information necessary for the study of Economics has become available digitally, so it is easy to fall behind. A donation directly to Economics, or a donation to the library designated for purchase of Economics materials would be a wonderful gift.
Economists believe in incentives, and various endowed prizes could be motivators. We currently award the Robert A. Barry Prize annually to the “best” graduating Economics student as determined by the faculty. Many of you may remember Bob Barry, who was responsible for introducing so many of us to the wonders of Economics. Currently this award is funded by Mark Kulish '81. There are other prizes that could be created, such as a prize for the best honors thesis, and others that you may want to propose.

This list of department needs is far from exhaustive. If you have other ideas, we want to hear from you. Feel free to contact us. We do need and appreciate your help.