Economics Department to Host Summer Minority Program Beginning in 2004
Eight-week summer program aims to boost minority interest in the graduate study of economics
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
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Duke University's Department of Economics has been selected to host the American Economic Association's Summer Minority Program beginning in 2004.
Duke will be the ninth university to host the program, which is currently housed at the University of Colorado at Denver.
"We are delighted that the AEA has chosen Duke for its minority program" said William H. Chafe, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. "This further reinforces our effort to increase the number of minorities in the Ph.D. pipeline, as well as our ongoing commitment to sustain Duke's recruitment of a diverse faculty and student body."
Duke will benefit from the program in myriad ways, said Thomas Nechyba, the incoming chairman of Duke's economics department. Duke will not only be contributing to the field of economics by recruiting and mentoring talented minority undergraduate students, but stands to benefit in the long run if some of these same students return to Duke as graduate students or professors.
"It's the only thing happening in economics to address the roots of the problem," said Nechyba, who taught in the Summer Minority Program when it was housed at Stanford University. "It puts us on the map as being serious about the issue."
Duke will host the program for three years, with an option to renew for an additional two years. Already, eight senior faculty members have volunteered to teach during the eight-week program. Even more have offered to recruit and mentor students.
That commitment -- and the quality of Duke's economics department -- is the reason Duke was chosen to host the program, said Charles M. Becker, a research professor of economics at the University of Colorado at Denver and director of the AEA Summer Minority Program. Becker will continue to serve as director when the program relocates to Duke.
Each summer, 32 to 36 students will participate in the program, which offers courses in economic theory, statistics and research methods. Participants learn the technical skills they need to succeed in doctoral programs, but also develop confidence and build a support network, Becker said.
"It's important for American society to draw people from all backgrounds and races into academe, especially in areas like economics, which are so important in making policy," Becker said. "It will help set Duke apart from other top 20 programs."
At Duke, students will have access to the Economics Center for Teaching, which provides computer, writing and research support. They will also be able to take advantage of new Web-based technology that Duke developed to test students' calculus skills as well as track their understanding of material presented in class.
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Nechyba can be reached for additional comment at (919) 660-1841 or by e-mail at nechyba@econ.duke.edu.
