Welcome From Our New Chair
introduce myself as the new
chair of Rice’s Department of
Economics.
My wife Gia and I have just
relocated to Houston from
Philadelphia and the University
of Pennsylvania, where I served
as director of the Penn Institute
for Economic Research and held
the Lawrence R. Klein Chair of
Economics. I am thrilled with the
opportunity to get to know this
city and to be at Rice, where your
warm welcome has confirmed
our decision to join this vibrant
community committed to
excellence and impact.
I am most excited, of course,
to position the Department of
Economics among the leading
institutions in the world for the
study of economics. With this as
our goal, we have launched the
Rice Initiative for the Study of
Economics, or RISE.
STAY CONNECTED:
•
•
2
economics.rice.edu/
undergraduate-program
facebook.com/
riceuniversityeconomics
RISE will focus on the following
priorities:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Recruit additional new
faculty to the department,
including professors with
joint appointments in other
schools.
Launch the new professional
Master’s Program in Energy
Economics.
Establish the Distinguished
Visiting Scholars Program.
Establish the annual
internationally attended RISE
Conference.
Recruit senior-level, nontenure-track lecturers to
bolster our teaching efforts
for Rice undergraduates.
Expand graduate fellowships.
To reach these goals, we must
have the philanthropic support
of our Rice community. Alumni
philanthropy will provide, through
RISE, the resources to open new
avenues of academic excellence,
nurture a top-class educational
experience for our students, and
ECONOMICS
Fall 2013 - Spring 2014
3,784 Rice Undergraduates
1,685 ECON Undergrad Enrollments
21 FACULTY
8 AFFILIATED FACULTY
3 STAFF
•
•
•
•
Flávio Cunha, a path-breaking
r esearcher of the economics
of education who joins us
from Penn.
Hülya Eraslan, a leading
scholar in political economy
who joins us from Johns
Hopkins.
Xun Tang, a leader in
industrial organization
research who joins us from
Penn.
Kenneth Wolpin, an eminent
scholar in labor economics
who joins us from Penn.
Flávio
Cunha
Hülya
Eraslan
Xun
Tang
Each of these individuals brings
unique expertise and perspective,
while sharing my own vision for
economics as a powerful lens
through which we can view and
understand our world and as a
tool with which we can improve
all of our lives.
Again, I am very enthusiastic to
begin the upcoming academic
year and to continue to share and
discuss RISE and all that we can do
for Rice. I hope that I will have the
opportunity to meet each of you
in the coming days.
Kenneth
Wolpin
With best wishes,
Antonio M. Merlo
Chair of Department of Economics
59%
41%
197 ECON
Undergrads
38 Grad Students
RICE ECON
ECON & MTEC
48% MTEC
Greetings! I am pleased to
I am pleased to say that our efforts
are already well underway, as
we welcome four exceptionally
talented new faculty members to
the department:
52% ECON
Through RISE, we will recruit
more top scholars to join our
exceptional faculty, leverage
partnerships around Rice, and
create programs that inspire
our undergraduates, graduate
students and community
members alike.
New Faculty!
ensure that the Department
of Economics reaches its full
potential.
Undergrads
RISE is a five-year
effort that will enhance
research and teaching
in economics as key
engines of academic
success and real-world
contributions.
Fall 2014