Economics Department at DePaul University

Please join us in congratulating economics student Natalie Koziol on receiving the LAS Outstanding Senior Award! 🎉
This award recognizes exceptional achievement, leadership, and contributions within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. We are proud to celebrate Natalie’s hard work, dedication, and accomplishments throughout her time at DePaul.
Congratulations, Natalie, on this well-deserved honor. We look forward to seeing all that you accomplish next!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2026 Economics Student Conference and End-of-Year Celebration!

This year’s conference featured 10 sessions and nearly 50 student presenters from across the economics program, including undergraduate students, MS students, and MBA students. The event highlighted the impressive range of student research and analysis, with students actively supporting one another throughout the event.

We would also like to thank Kanlaya Barr, Director of Corporate Economics at John Deere, for delivering this year’s keynote address. She shared insights into her career path, discussed how John Deere applies economic thinking and data analysis to business decisions, and spoke about how the company is responding to the current economic environment.

Congratulations to our paper competition winners:

Graduate
🏆 Best Paper: Joshua Cray
Second Place: AJ Lee, Chase MacDonald
Honorable Mention: John Gram
Honorable Mention: Thomas Johnson, Brian Ardoin, Terik Coleman

Undergraduate
🏆 Best Paper: Nicholas Prusa
Second Place : Imene Chafai
Honorable mention: Richmond Lingard

Thank you to all of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and guests who helped make this year’s event such a success.

Interested in careers in finance and economics? Attend the Women in Finance & Economics Panel on Wednesday, May 27, from 5:00–7:00 PM in DPC 11042.

Featured panelists include:
🔹 Yelena Maleyev, Senior Economist, KPMG
🔹 Charlotte Matik, Portfolio Management Analyst, CME Group
🔹 Abbey Cox, Sr. Associate Corporate Solutions, Blue Owl Capital
🔹 May Patarasaengtha, SVP Trading Market & Treasury Credit Risk, Northern Trust

Attendees will have the opportunity to hear industry insights, network with professionals, and learn more about career paths in the field.

Please complete the sign-up form if you plan to attend: https://lnkd.in/gFu-qzun
Business professional attire is encouraged.
For questions, contact [email protected]

Join the Economics Department on Friday, May 15, for the Economics Student Conference and End-of-Year Celebration! 🎉

The event will feature student research presentations, a keynote address on the state of the economy by Kanlaya Barr, Director of Corporate Economics at John Deere, and an awards reception celebrating the end of the academic year.

All economics students are encouraged to attend, even if you are not presenting. Come support your classmates, gain insights from industry, and celebrate with fellow students and faculty!

We’re proud to recognize the students who excelled in this year’s Business Strategy Case Competition! 🎉

Participants analyzed real-world business challenges and presented strategic recommendations to industry professionals.

Graduate
🏆 Winners: Riya Chettiar & Vishnu Purushothaman Sajeev
Honorable Mention: Kyra Johnson, Ashley Defay, Max Burstein
Honorable Mention: Katelynn Oxley, Athanasios Bourtsos, Anirudh Siddheswaran

Undergraduate
🏆 First Place: Aiana Kurumshieva, Nurzaada Azizbekova, Azim Bakiyev, Oleg Simakov
Second Place: Abdulazis Tilekov, Erkin Abdykaparov, Said Guseynov, Nematillo Parpiev
Honorable Mention: Angelina Ayello, Leslie Carranza, Peyton Portis

Congratulations to all participants, and thank you to our judges for a great competition! 👏

How do data and behavior shape decision-making?

In our latest faculty Q&A, Haritima Chauhan shares insights on her research in behavioral economics, her experience applying AI and machine learning, and her approach to teaching students how to think critically and make data-driven decisions.

Read the full Q&A to learn more!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/faculty-spotlight-haritima-chauhan-pzbqc

Submit your paper to the Economics Student Paper Conference for a chance to win a scholarship prize!

Papers written for Econ classes in Spring 2025, Fall 2025, and Winter 2026 can be submitted.

How to submit your paper:
➡ Go to D2L and look for ESC 2026
➡ Upload your paper to the submission box and submit

The deadline for submitting a paper is Friday, April 24.

We’re excited to feature Jennifer Mayo, Assistant Professor of Economics, in our latest Faculty Spotlight!

In this Q&A, Professor Mayo shares her journey from studying in England to earning her PhD in Economics and joining DePaul. She also discusses her research in public and labor economics, her approach to teaching, and what she hopes students take away from studying economics.

Outside the classroom, she enjoys exploring Chicago’s neighborhoods, participating in book clubs, and playing the cello in a local amateur orchestra. 🎻📚

Read the full Q&A to learn more!

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/faculty-spotlight-jennifer-mayo-assistant-xkrnc

On Wednesday, February 25, the Economics Department hosted "State of the Economy: What’s Next for the U.S. and Global Economy?", an engaging and insightful discussion on the forces shaping today’s economy.

A sincere thank you to our panelists:
🔹 Ryan Boyle, Chief U.S. Economist at Northern Trust
🔹 Jac Connolly, Global Economist at Kraft Heinz Company
And thank you to our moderator, Jaejoon Woo, Professor of Economics, for leading such a thoughtful and dynamic conversation.

We’re grateful for the expertise and perspectives shared throughout the event and for everyone who joined us.

Faculty Spotlight: Rich Mullen

With 25 years of entrepreneurial experience, Rich brings real-world insight into the classroom. Read more about Rich in the Q&A below.

Bringing Business Experience to ECO 307: Managerial Decision Making After 25 years of building and scaling his own business and successfully exiting in 2017, Rich Mullen returned to the classroom, earning his MBA in Applied Economics at DePaul University and joining the Department of Economics soon after. His journey from finance student at The George Washington Uni