Economics and Management department newsletter
Alumni and Faculty Spotlight:
Seniors Going to Jobs and School, May 2008
Prof. Villinski receives Fulbright Award for 2008-09
Prof. Kerry Pannell recognized with Exemplary Teaching Award, November 2007
Seniors Going to Jobs and School, May 2007
Michael Bergerson, '04, with John Roberts, Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court,
November, 2006
Rumen Ivanov '06 Receives Wall Street Journal Award, Sept. 2006
Prof. Raymonda Burgman Joins Indianapolis Chapter of
Coalition of 100 Black Women, Sept. 2006
DePauw Junior, Projesh Banerjea, Returns from Highly Selective,Masters-Level Summer Prog., Aug. 2006
Adam Ratner '05 Co-Author of Winning Paper, August 2006
Seniors Going to Jobs and School, May 2006
Honorary Degrees at Commencement, May 22, 2005
Dr. Pannell speaks on globalization on National Public Radio affiliate in Bloomington, IN, May 20, 2005
An Alumna in the Peace Corps: Letters from Honduras
Seniors Going to Jobs and School, May 2005
Michael Bergerson, '04,with John Roberts, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court,
November, 2006
| I just wanted to fill you in on a great meeting I had this morning with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts. We had a one-on-one meeting for about a half hour, and he had some great stories about growing up in Long Beach, going to Notre Dame grade school, and working his way up through different government and private sector jobs as a lawyer. Great guy, and he wanted to send his regards to everyone back in Indiana. When I first sat down in his office with him, he was quick to point out that the small leather couch I was sitting on was where former President John Q. Adams died after collapsing on the floor of the House of Reps. A little creepy, but a good ice-breaker! He showed me around his office chambers, which were stunning, and also the conference room where the 9 justices meet to discuss and decide on each case. Pretty intense! All in all, it was a great meeting, and he is a real inspiration for Northwest Indiana, especially for those of us who are ND-grads. |
 Michael Bergerson, '04, is attending the Loyola University, Chicago School of Law. |
Rumen Ivanov '06 Gets Wall Street Journal Award
September 20, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - Rumen M. Ivanov, a 2006 graduate of DePauw University from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, is the recipient of a 2006 Wall Street Journal "Student Achievement Award." For 60 years, this distinguished program has given colleges and universities an exclusive opportunity to recognize the performance of their most outstanding students. Students are nominated by their schools, and are recognized among other things for academic achievement, leadership potential and/or entrepreneurial spirit. Ivanov's name is listed among the 2006 winners in today's edition of the Journal.
As the winner of a Student Achievement Award, Ivanov receives:
- a commemorative award medallion made of sculpted brass embedded in a Lucite paperweight
- a one-year subscription to the Wall Street Journal, in print and online
- a published listing of the winner's name and school in a full-page announcement in the Journal
- a congratulatory letter from the Wall Street Journal
Awards are limited to one per school, per year. Rumen Ivanov was an economics major and Management Fellow at DePauw and graduated summa cum laude.
Prof. Raymonda Burgman Joins Indianapolis Chapter of
Coalition of 100 Black Women
September 15, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - Raymonda L. Burgman, assistant professor of economics at DePauw University, has been inducted as a member of the Indianapolis chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women. The organization is dedicated to community service, the creation of wealth for social change, the enhancement of career opportunities for women of color through networking and strategically designed programs, and the empowerment of women of color to meet their diverse needs.
"I am excited and happy to join this organization along with these fine women," says Dr. Burgman, one of eight new members added to the Coalition. "I'm especially enthusiastic about the Coalition's alliance with the Academy for Girls, a mentoring program for young women who are high school-aged. I am working on bringing some of these young women 
to DePauw soon for a campus visit. Many of these girls have tremendous potential but are not aware of the college options that they can consider and avail themselves of."
The National Coalition of 100 Black Women was founded in 1971, "when a group of black women in New York City decided to pool their efforts to address the problems facing them, their families and their communities," noted Kathy Maeglin in a 2003 Indianapolis Business Journal story on the organization. "They dubbed their group the Coalition of 100 Black Women. The success of the New York group raised interest among black women in other parts of the country and led to the creation of the national group in 1981."
DePauw Junior, Projesh Banerjea, Returns from Highly Selective,
Masters-Level Summer Program
August 28, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - For Projesh Banerjea, a DePauw University junior from Kolkata, India, the summer provided an exhilirating opportunity to expand his knowledge of economics. Banerjea, a Management Fellow and Information Technology Associate, was one of about 40 students from across the nation who participated in a highly selective, masters-level summer program presented by the American Economic Association at Duke University.
"It was a truly rewarding experience," says Banerjea. "My experience at the AEA program and my advisor at DePauw, Dr. Raymonda Burgman, have piqued my interest in economics and motivated me to pursue a graduate degree in the subject".
Last spring, while interning with JPMorgan in New York City, Banerjea applied to the American Economic Association Summer Program at Duke University. The program came
recommended by his faculty adviser, assistant professor of economics Raymonda L. Burgman, who had participated in it when she was an undergraduate.
Designed for students interested in pursuing graduate studies in economics, the AEA Summer Program provides exposure to the skills and coursework required to successfully complete a doctoral degree. This year's participants ranged from sophomores in college to people who had MBAs and years of work experience. "The program went on for a little over nine weeks and we took four courses from Duke's masters curriculum over this period," Banerjea reports. "One of the four courses was research based and we completed and presented a paper at its conclusion."
He notes, "This program helped me appreciate and value DePauw's supportive faculty and small classes compared to graduate classes in bigger universities, which are mediated by teaching assistants. I also learned to enjoy the mathematical side of economics and want to eventually complete a doctoral degree in the subject."
In the nearer term, after he graduates from DePauw, Projesh Banerjea envisions returning to Duke to complete his masters degree, and then enter the workforce. "My internship with the Technology, Media and Telecommunications investment banking group at JPMorgan exposed me to the exciting lifestyle on Wall Street and I hope to work there once I've completed my masters."
Banerjea serves as business and advertising manager for the student newspaper, The DePauw, and is also active in DePauw's debate team, the International Students Association, Men Against Rape, the Young Economists Society and Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He's also been a member of the DePauw University Orchestra. He asserts, "With its small classes and encouraging faculty, DePauw is perhaps one of the most supportive universities in this country. It is a school where talent is nurtured and directed and each student is helped to fulfill his or her potential."
Professor Burgman states, "Projesh is one of the most brilliant students that I have ever had in my many years of teaching. He is quite inquisitive about financial markets and international economic policy. It was my pleasure to recommend him to the program since I participated in the same program 12 years ago at Stanford University. On June 4, I gave a speech to Projesh's class at Duke. I provided an alum's perspective on what the summer program meant to me and what my experience was like during the intensive summer program. It was an absolute joy to see one of my students sitting amongst what I consider some of the brightest young economic minds in the country. In the next few years, those students will gain admission to doctoral programs where they will shine like the true stars they already are," she declares.
Learn more about the American Economic Association Summer Program at Duke University by clicking here.
Paper Co-Authored by Adam Ratner '05 Wins
National Association for Business Economics Award
August 29, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - An article co-authored by Adam S. Ratner, of West Monroe Partners LLC and a 2005 graduate of DePauw University, is the 2006 winner of the National Association for Business Economics' Edmund A. Mennis award for the best paper submitted to Business Economics magazine. The paper, "Strengthening Globalization's Invisible Hand: What Matters Most" was written with Thomas F. Siems, senior economist and policy advisor in the research department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. On September 11, Ratner and Siems will present their work at the NABE Convention in Boston and receive their award.
As part of the prize, the article will be published in a future issue of Business Economics.
Founded in 1959, NABE® is an association of professionals who have an interest in business economics and who want to use the latest economic data and trends to enhance their ability to make sound business decisions. There are approximately 2,500 members representing more than 1,500 businesses
and other organizations from around the world.
While a student at DePauw, Adam Ratner co-authored another article with Siems that appeared in Southwest Economy, which is published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
A Management Fellow at DePauw, Adam Ratner joined West Monroe Partners in July of 2005. He is a Chicago-based consultant in the company's Enterprise Solutions group, which delivers strategy, advisory, business intelligence, and merger and acquisition services. West Monroe Partners provides a broad array of business and technology consulting services. It has offices in Chicago, Montreal, Toronto, Seattle, and Columbus, Ohio.
Honorary Degrees at Commencement, May 22, 2005
DePauw University will honor three Economics and Management Department alumni with honorary degrees at the 165th annual Commencement on
May 22, 2005. The recipients will be:
Charles A. Leis, '52; Judith A. Ed strom, '70; and Timothy C. Collins, '78
Charles A. Leis '52 - Doctor of Business Administration. The chief executive officer of A.F. Leis Co., Inc., Charles Leis has defined the "uncommon success" of DePauw alumni, in his professional life and in service to his alma mater and community. After graduating from DePauw in 1952 with a degree in economics, Chuck Leis began work at General Electric in Schenectady, N.Y., but before the year was over he was drafted and served in the U.S. Army. Upon his discharge in 1954, Leis joined A.F. Leis, a contract manufacturer of medical equipment. He left the company in 1957, only to return four years later. Since that time, the company's annual sales have grown from $85,000 to $27 million, and A.F. Leis is known as a world class and worldwide provider of implants and instrumentation to the orthopedic and spinal community. Leis has served DePauw as a member of the Alumni Board of Directors and the Board of Visitors. In 2003, he and his wife Marilyn ('52) made a gift to DePauw name a residence hall in the new Rector Village, Leis Hall. Chuck Leis has also served on various boards within his church and offers his expertise to the Kettering (Ohio) Education Foundation, which is working to improve the local school district.
Judith A. Edstrom '70 - Doctor of Humane Letters.
While serving in leadership roles within the World Bank and UNICEF over a quarter century, Judith Edstrom is a powerful and articulate advocate for social development and poverty reduction in developing countries. Edstrom served in a variety of roles with the World Bank from 1984-2004, including sector manager of the social development department, where she led a cross-Bank initiative to develop an analytical approach to human rights. As chief of mission in South Africa, she brought about what South African officials described as a "sea change" in that country's relationship with the Bank, resulting in the government's first request to borrow from the bank for human and social development grants. From 1979 to 1984, Edstrom served UNICEF as regional adviser and chief of the Francophone Section in the agency's regional office in East Africa. She began her career at the World Bank as an education economist. Judith Edstrom earned a BA in European Politics & Economics from DePauw in 1970; was valedictorian of her 1972 class at Columbia University's School of International Affairs (MIA); and in 1999 completed Harvard University's World Bank Executive Development Program.
Timothy C. Collins '78 - Doctor of Humane Letters. "A rising star of the global private equity world" is how the Financial Times of London recently described Timothy C. Collins, senior managing director and chief executive officer of Ripplewood Holdings L.L.C. Collins "made his name by co-leading a pioneering purchase, restructuring and float of Japan's state-owned and bankrupt Long-Term Credit Bank, turning it round and renaming it Shinsei [in] one of the most profitable private equity deals ever," the European article stated. Collins, a 1978 graduate of DePauw, also serves as a director and CEO of RHJ International, a publicly-listed diversified holding company headquartered in Brussels. In addition, he serves on the RHJ Board and is a director of Shinsei Bank, WRC Media Inc., Asbury Automotive Group Inc., Japan Telecom, Nutrition Technologies L.L.C and Phoenix Resorts K.K. He has been featured on the cover of Business Week's international edition and was named to SmartMoney magazine's "Power 30." Tim Collins serves his community as a member of the boards of Yale Divinity School, Yale School of Organization and Management, American Friends of the British Museum, and as a Trustee of the Carnegie Hall Society. He is also a member of Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission.
The following is found on the DePauw University website of recent news articles.
| May 20, 2005
Outsourcing an "Inevitable Aspect" of Capitalism But Has Limits, |
 |
"This is an inevitable aspect of the capitalist economy we live in, and we're not going back from globalization," Kerry Pannell, associate professor of economics and management at DePauw University, said on Bloomington, Indiana National Public Radio affiliate WFIU this afternoon. Dr. Pannell spent the hour-long program discussing the "outsourcing" of American jobs. "We have to deal with it in ways that reduce the volatility for workers; the risk for workers right now is quite high."
Pannell told host Will Murphy that financially-troubled firms are finding enormous cost savings in sending jobs -- from manufacturing to call center operators -- to other countries where wages are a fraction of what American workers earn. "In the past, workers have been very vulnerable to entire industries perhaps leaving, or companies going under. But this is a situation where the company is going to come out of bankruptcy, but there's going to be a lot of pain on the employees. So, the government has to step up and help up," by providing assistance -- including continuing education and job re-training -- to workers displaced by outsourcing. "The government has always been a stabilizing force, and I think it can be in this case as well," she added.
Professor Pannell was joined on the program by Kenneth Dau-Schmidt, professor of labor and employment law at the Indiana University School of Law in Bloomington. She described how McDonald's is testing a concept in which it outsources its drive-through attendants to an order center in a state where wages are lower
But, the DePauw economist believes, "There are limits to how much outsourcing is going to continue." Although one analysis estimated three million American jobs could be lost to the phenomenon over the next ten years, "I think that's on the very high side of things, because there are organizational limits to shifting jobs to India. For example, some companies just aren't going to be big enough to take advantage of moving all of their business processing to India; it's just not gonna be worth it to be halfway around the world. Communication technology is good, but you still sometimes want face-to-face contact with people. Dell [Computer] has actually brought back some of its outsourcing back to the United States because small business owners were interested in having more face-to-face contact. They didn't want to deal with somebody in call center in Bangalore."
An Alumna in the Peace Corps: Letters from Honduras
Exerts from Courtney Bennett ‘04, a member of the Honduras Peace Corps. (Used with her permission.)
Thanks for giving us an inside view to your experience!
October 30, 2004
Training is almost finished and next week, I will be going to the Ambassador’s house to become an official Peace Corps Volunteer. This past week, I was informed that my next two years will be spent living in San Jose, a small town of 1200 people within the Comayagua department. My job will be to work in a computer center that was built by the Honduras government where I will be teaching computer classes, aiding the center to become self-sustainable, and helping the staff with marketing and administration issues. In addition, I have the opportunity to work at a small savings and loan cooperative and the mayor would like me to be involved with municipality projects…
December 19, 2004
…So far, I have taught a few computer classes and arranged an open house in addition to trying to conquer the language barrier. My current problem is getting people to come to the computer center due to their unfamiliarity with computers; therefore, my priority is to recruit people to visit the center...
We are looking forward to hearing more from Courtney to learn how her placement is going!
