A paper coauthored by Economics Professors Brad Humphreys and Jane Ruseski has been chosen by its journal of publication, Sports Economic Review, as its best paper of the year. Their research suggests that cities with professional sports teams bear increased flu mortality rates. Read the paper on Sports Economic Review.
Outstanding!
Each spring, the University honors selected faculty members with the WVU Foundation Awards for Outstanding Teaching. Jody Crosno, the Joseph E. Antonini Chair and professor in marketing, was one of five faculty to receive the 2021 award. The committee was impressed by her seamless incorporation of experiential learning and technology into the classroom, exceptional student engagement, and innovative classroom assignments that require her students to engage with customers and clients, such as Camp Virgil Tate, to gain real-world experience.
First Pitch
Supported by Silicon Valley CEO Ray Zinn, the first ZinnStarter Pitch Competition, hosted by the LaunchLab, gave aspiring collegiate entrepreneurs an opportunity to win cash to build their ideas into the next groundbreaking product or business. Winners included: First place ($2,500): Emma Adams, WVU animal and nutritional sciences major, and her business idea PetRecord, which provides universal medical records for pets in emergency situations; second place ($1,500): Cameron Keefe, global supply chain management major, and her idea ThermoRoller, which combines physical massage with temperature control to relieve sore muscle pain; and third place ($1,000) to the team of Austin Davis, Anne Byer and Emily Thomas, from the University of Charleston, and their idea Second Chance, a program that helps give active control back to people with quadriplegia and paraplegia.
Testify
John Deskins, director of the WVU Bureau of Business and Economic Research, testified on Capitol Hill before the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in July. The topic? The importance of energy innovation to economic growth.
Embodying the Mountaineer Spirit
Congratulations to marketing student Madison Bowers, who was named a Mountaineer of Distinction this fall. The award was presented during WVU’s Mountaineer Week in October 2021 and recognizes exemplary academic achievement and extracurricular involvement. Way to go, Madison! “As someone who is from a tiny town in Coal County, West Virginia, winning this award meant the world to me. I firmly believe that it takes a village to raise a kid and I am endlessly thankful to my family, friends, community, and Chambers College family, for their help along the way. Once a Mountaineer, always a Mountaineer.”
The Economics of Ergonomics
A Chambers College student can become anything. Like his father before him, Economics Ph.D. graduate Perry Ferrell became a carpenter.