Diversifying the Economists
Pipeline program hopes exposure to economics will help boost
the abysmally low numbers of minority faculty in the discipline.
By Ronald Roach
With a flair for math, Janelle Jones won a NASA scholarship to Spelman College. Though the Lorain, Ohio native had initial expectations of becoming a mathematician, Jones later found that studying economics proved a more compelling intellectual pursuit. Graduating this past spring from the historically Black women’s college in Atlanta, Jones completed a bachelor’s degree in math with a minor in economics. She plans to enroll at The Ohio State University this fall to pursue a doctorate in economics.
“Mathematics is pretty abstract and doesn’t always apply to the real world. I like economics because I can apply it to social problems,” Jones says.
This summer, Jones is proving she has the mental discipline and talent, reinforced by her math background, to master graduate-level courses in economics. She is one of 45 students enrolled in the American Economists Association’s summer and minority scholarship program at Duke University. An academic pipeline program that’s been in operation for 33 years, the eight-week summer experience prepares its participants for the rigors of first- and second-year study in master’s and doctorate programs in economics.
The program also plays host to the AEA’s annual pipeline conference. Held in July, the conference brings together current and former program participants, professional economists who volunteer as mentors and graduate economics students who present research papers. According to Dr. William Rogers, director of the pipeline conference project, approximately 100 people are expected to attend the 2006 conference.
