Edward Hoang 

Block 1 Visitor

Teaching EC377: Economics of International Finance

About Edward Hoang Ph.D.

Edward Hoang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at University of Colorado Colorado Springs. 

EC377: Economics of International Finance

Historical and economic analysis of international financial arrangements; theories of foreign exchange, balance of payments and adjustment mechanisms; alternative world monetary systems in theory and practice; proposals for monetary reform; regional and world financial organization.

Prerequisite: -EC301 and -EC302.

Rhonda Sharpe 

Block 7 Visitor

Teaching EC110: Introductory Topics in Economics and Business: Using Big Data to Unmask Inequality

About Rhonda Sharpe

Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe is an economist and mathematician who analyzes large data sets to find the stories hidden in the aggregate. Her research includes disaggregating data to identify nuances in outcomes that can improve economic well-being. Sharpe is the president and founder of the Women’s Institute for Science, Equity and Race.

Sharpe’s areas of expertise include gender and racial inequality, diversity in STEM and the demography of higher education, each of which she has written about extensively. Her commitment to creating inclusive spaces has been recognized with mentoring awards from the American Economic Association Mentoring Program and the Sadie Collective. She also received the 2021 Most Impactful Adjunct Faculty Award, L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. She is the co-founder of the Diversity Initiative for Tenure in Economics (DITE), founder and director of the Inclusive Peer Onsite Distance (IPOD) Mentoring Program and assistant director of the American Economic Association Summer Minority Training Program (AEASMP). She is the Review of Black Political Economy co-editor and has served as president of the National Economic Association (2017).

Sharpe completed her undergraduate studies in mathematics at North Carolina Wesleyan College. She holds master’s degrees from Clark Atlanta University (in applied mathematics), Stanford University (in operations research) and Claremont Graduate University (in economics). She completed her doctorate in economics/mathematics at Claremont Graduate University.

EC110: Introductory Topics in Economics and Business: Using Big Data to Unmask Inequality

Students learn how to analyze big datasets to identify patterns of inequality that may be attributed to citizenship status, ethnicity, language, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity (SOGI), etc.  Students work in groups to find the data for their projects and use the appropriate economic statistical method to examine the group's research question.  Students will analyze the data using large aggregate groups and again using disaggregated data to identify inequality hidden in the aggregate.  Students will offer policy critiques and recommendations in a five- to ten-page white paper.  Students will present their findings visually using infographics and other visualization mediums.

Janet Brugger 

Block 4 Visitor

Teaching BU110: Building Economic Ecosystems for Black and Women-Owned Businesses

About Janet Brugger

Janet Brugger is CEO of JBrugger Consulting which specializes in strategic planning, organizational development and change, and leadership coaching. Janet currently is an Adjunct Instructor at Pikes Peak State College and a Lead Business Navigator with Colorado Enterprise Fund. In addition, Janet served four years as President of the board of directors of the Colorado Springs Black Chamber of Commerce.  

Janet has over 25 years’ experience in leadership positions in a wide variety of industries however her passion is giving entrepreneurs the education and guidance they need to be competitive in the current economic environment and as successful business owners. Janet’s current area of research and interest is the development of a sustainable and supportive economic ecosystem for the support of black and woman-owned small businesses.

In addition to serving on local boards, Janet has recently been named to the Leadership Council of the National Small Business Association where she will be working to promote the interests of small business to policymakers in Washington, D.C.  Her area of focus will be on economic policies that affect small and minority businesses.

Janet received her B.S. in Social and Behavioral Sciences and M.S. in Management/HR Organizational Development from University of Maryland College Park.    

BU110: Building Economic Ecosystems for Black and Women-Owned Businesses

Social entrepreneurship and business ownership—particularly among black and women-owned businesses—can be a crucial way to develop community wealth, for both business owners and the people they employ.  By examining current business ecosystems, this course will explore the systemic barriers that hinder black and women-owned businesses’ efforts to ideate, start and sustain a business. We will explore how the concept of social enterprises through partnerships with public-, private-, and social-sector stakeholders can develop a supportive economic environment for black and women-owned businesses.

Tim Nguyen

Half Block Visitor

Teaching BU111: Personal Financial Planning

About Tim Nguyen

Tim Nguyen has taught business, economics, finance, and public policy at numerous esteemed colleges and universities across the U.S., including Wesleyan University, University of Vermont, University of Chicago, Johns Hopkins University, and Middlebury College. He has worked primarily in investment management and healthcare service delivery for the past two decades.

BU111: Personal Financial Planning

The study of the development and implementation of a personal financial and investment program. Includes analysis of budgeting and tax planning, managing liquidity, financing large purchases, protecting assets and income, analyzing investment information, examining alternative investment types, and investing money for retirement. There is no enrollment limit to this course and it is graded Pass/Fail only.

Paul Hurt 

Block 8 Visitor

Teaching BU225: Interm. Topics: The Business of Conservation

About Paul Hurt

Paul Hurt 75' served as the Deputy General Counsel for The Conservation Fund since 2001. The Conservation Fund is in the business of conservation, creating innovative solutions that drive nature-based action for climate protection, sustainable economies and vibrant communities. As Deputy General Counsel, Paul proveded legal and business support to the full range of program's including the Working Forest Fund and Natural Capital Investment Fund (a Treasury regulated Community Development Financial Institution providing capital to small businesses engaged in the sustainable use of natural resources, primarily in rural communities). He has extensive experience with real property acquistions, conservation dispositions to federal, state, and local government agencies and local land trusts, conservation easements, and federal income taxation. 

BU225: Interm. Topics: The Business of Conservation

This course explores topics in conservation, including what to conserve and how to accomplish it, techniques and strategies, legal structures, economic and business opportunities and constraints, and wider impacts on communities. Emphasis on discussion and both actual and hypothetical case studies.

Santhi Hejeebu 

Block 7 Visitor

Teaching BU225: Interm. Topics: Social Analytics

About Santhi Hejeebu

Santhi loves the block plan! As Professor and Co-chair of the Department of Economics and Business at Cornell College, Santhi has devoted her career to undergraduate education using the One-Course-At-A-Time system. She has broad and deep interests across economics and business fields. In 2014, she spearheaded Cornell College’s efforts to develop a business analytics program. Her current teaching portfolio includes data visualization, consumer choice, social analytics, predictive analytics, prescriptive analytics, and a capstone seminar in which students undertake a block-length project with an area business or non-profit organization. Since joining Cornell College in 2004, she has held numerous faculty leadership roles. She enjoys mentoring young scholars from diverse backgrounds and is particularly committed to making the residential, liberal arts experience valuable to first generation college students. Recently, in collaboration with the United Way, she initiated a free tax clinic, bringing together the emerging skills of Economics and Business students with the concrete needs of community members.

Santhi earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Maryland Baltimore County, and an MA and PhD in economics from the University of Iowa. Her dissertation focused on contractual relationships within early trading corporations of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Her research in early corporate forms instilled a deep appreciation of the relentless evolution of business enterprises. Captivated by the pace at which software platforms increasingly mediated both personal and commercial relationships, she shifted her focus exclusively to contemporary business during the last decade. During her dissertation research, Santhi spent a Fulbright year in India, and later taught at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Iowa before joining Cornell College.  Her publications have appeared in numerous peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes including the Journal of Economics and Management Strategies and the Journal of Economic History. Her co-edited Humanism Challenges Materialism in Economics and Economic History, was published by the University of Chicago Press in 2017.

BU225: Interm. Topics: Social Analytics

In a technology-intensive society, personal and economic relationships often originate and flourish on-line. The people and content in our social media feeds influence the jobs we obtain, the brands we admire, and even how we feel about ourselves. Without coding, this course introduces analytic concepts and software tools for listening and interpreting on-line social discourse. Business applications of text and network analysis are emphasized. Students will begin to understand how machines “read” and summarize human languages in ways valuable to customer communications. Students will also explore how digital communities are built around conversational topics. We will examine the structure of conversational networks and then explore how social content flows across a network. 

Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level EC or BU designated course.