Reuben Kyle Interviewed on Buchanan Book

“MTSU On the Record” features Gina Logue’s interview with Dr. Reuben Kyle, retired professor of economics, discussing his book about the family history of Nobel Prize winner and MTSU alumnus Dr. James M. Buchanan.

The program airs from 8 to 8:30 a.m. Sunday, March 16, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and www.wmot.org ).

(Read more at http://mtsunews.com/kyle-buchanan-on-the-record-mar14/.)

Former Economics Prof to Receive Congressional Gold Medal

http://mtsunews.com/yunus-congressional-gold-medal/ 

"Dr. Muhammad Yunus, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006, will be presented with the Congressional Gold Medal at 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday, April 17, at a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol rotunda. From 1969 to 1972, Yunus was an assistant professor of economics at MTSU, where he taught both macroeconomics and microeconomics." [Read more....]

Best-Paying College Majors for Women

Information Sciences and Business Economics make Forbes Top 10 List:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jennagoudreau/2012/11/28/the-10-best-paying-college-majors-for-women/

Talk to MTSU's departments of Computer Information Systems or Economics and Finance for more information. Jones College advisors can assist you.

Economics and the Environment

http://tinyurl.com/7p2xf2f   

MTSU assistant economics professor Michael Hammock discusses how incentives and greed affect the environment, as depicted in the movie "The Lorax." [Tennessean, March 1, 2012]

March Economics Speakers

The Department of Economics and Finance is hosting two guest speakers in March for presentations to undergraduate audiences.

• First up on March 14 is Frank Stephenson of Berry College, who writes on a variety of public choice and sports economics topics. Professor Stephenson will be giving a talk in the Davis Science Building, room 100, on the MTSU campus at 7 p.m. The lecture is titled "Want a Job? Get a License" and will be about occupational licensing, with some particular discussion of the 150-hour rule in accounting.
• On March 28, the MTSU Department of Economics and Finance will host economist David Figlio from Northwestern University. Figlio's recent work focuses on education reform, particularly vouchers, charter schools, and teacher assessment. He will be giving a talk in the Wiser-Patten Science Building, room 102, on the MTSU campus at 7 p.m. titled "The Pitfalls and Promise of Market-Based Education Reforms." 

Students are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Michael Hammock (michael.hammock@mtsu.edu), Department of Economics and Finance.

Updated Obituary: Dr. Richard Hannah

Dr. Richard Hannah

Middle Tennessee State University mourns the death this week of Dr. Richard Hannah, a professor in the Department of Economics and Finance who served as an international goodwill ambassador for our students.

Hannah, 59, whose work as part of the University Honors College included development of the first Buchanan Fellows macroeconomics course, joined MTSU in 1992. The Buchanan Fellowship, named for Nobel Prize laureate and MTSU alumnus James Buchanan, is the highest award given to students entering the Honors College.

“Richard was a distinguished professor, beloved by his students and colleagues and greatly valued for his service to our University,” said MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee. “His scholarship and leadership helped make MTSU stronger and we are deeply saddened by his passing.

“Our sympathies go out to Richard’s wife, Emma, and the entire family,” the President said.

Hannah traveled extensively overseas as a goodwill ambassador for the University. His most recent trip was to Bangladesh in December 2010 to meet with executives of Grameen Bank, founded by Nobel laureate and former MTSU professor Muhammad Yunus, to arrange for more MTSU student internships.

“Dr. Hannah believed he could inspire MTSU students by giving them examples of individuals like Dr. Buchanan and Dr. Yunus, and I believe he succeeded in this endeavor,” said John Vile, dean of the Honors College. “We are devastated by the loss. “

Hannah was the Honors College’s resident faculty member from the Jennings A. Jones College of Business and taught at the graduate and undergraduate levels at the University. For a decade, he was the host of “Inside Academia,” a television program produced at MTSU on higher education.

He also created the first online graduate-level Managerial Economics course at MTSU.

Hannah received his Bachelor of Arts degree in history from UT-Chattanooga and another Bachelor of Arts degree in German at MTSU, where he also earned his Master of Arts degree in economics. He received his Ph.D. degree in economics from the University of Utah.

Prior to becoming a full-time professor, Hannah served as director of MTSU’s Center for Economic Education and worked for the Tennessee Valley Authority.

[earlier note from Dean James Burton]

Obituary: Dr. Richard Hannah

Dr. Richard Hannah

It is with deep sorrow that we inform you of the passing of Professor Richard Hannah.

Dr. Hannah, Professor of Economics, was found dead of apparent natural causes in his Murfreesboro home on Wednesday by Murfreesboro Police.  Department Chair, Dr. Charlie Baum, had become concerned after Dr. Hannah missed classes on Monday and Wednesday and had initiated efforts to locate Dr. Hannah. 

Dr. Hannah was a valued member of the faculty and will be greatly missed by his colleagues and students.

We will provide additional information as it becomes available. 

—Dean Jim Burton


[update from President Sidney McPhee]

Hannah Travels to Bangladesh to Aid University Partners

Muhammad Yunus

Dr. Richard Hannah [Department of Economics and Finance] spent two weeks in December visiting Chittagong University in Bangladesh, one of MTSU's international partners, and making contact with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, former MTSU professor and founder of the Grameen Bank in the capital city of Dhaka. A second shipment of books is on its way to CU students through the efforts of MTSU's Yunus Program.

In addition, Hannah met with the executive staff at Grameen to discuss expanding internships at the bank. The first MTSU student to intern with Grameen, Steve Sibley, is in his second year of a doctoral program at Purdue University. [See Sibley's letters from Grameen describing his internship experience.]

[Read complete article in the Record.]

Dr. Richard Hannah, second from right, meets staff members at a medical facility in rural Bangladesh that has been set up as a social business.