Ettore Damiano’s introductory remarks on developments in the department.
Professor Damiano is appointed to serve as Chair and Graduate Chair of the Department of Economics from January 1, 2018 to June 30, 2023. An economic theorist working in the areas of mechanism design and information economics, he has been a member of the Department of Economics faculty since 2000.
We have now completed our year of the three chairs! In July 2017, Dwayne Benjamin was just finishing his second year as chair. But, by September, he was in the Faculty of Arts & Science Dean’s Office as Vice-Dean, Graduate Education. Fortunately, Martin Osborne quickly stepped up to expertly lead the department, including helping us continue to make progress on the University of Toronto Quality Assurance Process (UTQAP). This is a cyclical program review, which ensures the quality of undergraduate and graduate degree programs. We completed a comprehensive self-study, hosted a site visit by external reviewers in June, and are now awaiting their report.
I am honoured by the appointment as chair in January 2018. I sincerely thank all faculty members, students, and staff for their support. I am deeply grateful for Gillian Hamilton’s continued service as Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies and I am looking forward to working with Colin Stewart as Associate Chair, Graduate Studies. We will do our utmost to serve the department and to advance it in all its many aspects in the coming years.
We are pleased to bring you this newsletter in its new dedicated website form that allows us to showcase our accomplished faculty and students. As some examples, Ismael Mourifié won the Polanyi Prize, Jennifer Murdock received the President’s Teaching Award, Michael Gilraine won the National Tax Association Outstanding Doctoral Dissertation award, and our undergraduate student team in ECO466 placed first runner-up in the Bank of Canada Governor’s Challenge.
This newsletter is also a chance to celebrate distinguished careers. Notably, we took the opportunity to recognize Gordon Anderson’s life’s work, still ongoing, as he begins retirement. We also recognized Robbie Innes’s long and dedicated service to our undergraduate programs.
We say goodbye Michelle Serafinelli, who is taking a position at Essex, and Peter Foltin who is joining his family in Ottawa. We welcome our new junior hire David Price, and two postdoctoral fellows, Johannes Hoelzemann and Heather Sarsons. We are also honoured to have Serena Ng of Columbia University visiting us for a year.
I hope you are having a productive, but also restful summer. I look forward to working with all faculty, staff and students in the year ahead.
