Dr. Bob Cook, associate professor of economics at the Robins School, is preparing for his retirement.  As of September 1, the former Chairman of the Department of Economics (1985 -1997) will become an adjunct professor, teaching Global Economic Analysis or the Principles of Economics.  In his spare time, the avid outdoorsman plans on doing more of what he loves the most: hunting, fishing and sailing.

Dr. Cook’s love for the outdoors stems from a love for adventure.  In fact, Dr. Cook’s life has been filled with adventure. The son of a Portsmouth shipyard worker, Dr. Cook was the first in his family to pursue a college degree.  He first set foot on Spider soil as a freshman in the 1960s.

The native Virginian spent too much time on the football field and hanging out at his fraternity, however, and so ended up taking an unplanned detour to Korea with the Army.  He returned from the DMZ (demilitarized zone) a much more mature individual, and completed his college degree on the GI Bill.  He graduated from the University of Richmond in 1971 with a BS in Business.

“My first job was the ‘friendly finance man’ at Lawrence Chrysler Plymouth.  From there I went to Reynolds Metals, where it wasn’t long before I was director of sales management and market research,” said Dr. Cook.  “I was doing quite well and I knew I had a decision to make – I could spend my entire career in the aluminum industry or I could go back to school. I wanted to go to graduate school.”

“At that time, there were only two doctoral programs in Economics in Virginia – and I chose Virginia Tech.  They didn’t let me in right away, however, I had to go to night school at VCU and take post graduate classes at the master’s level.  I did quite well and they accepted me into the doctorate program,” continued Dr. Cook.

Dr. Cook received his PhD in Economics from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 1980 at the age of 36.  He credits University of Richmond undergraduate professors Herman Thomas and Russell Warren as the reason he wanted to get a PhD. The two introduced him to the discipline of Economics and were his classroom inspiration.

“They were great in the classroom, and I wanted to be just like them. They were my role models.  I still have my notebooks from those classes.  Fresh out of Tech, I returned to the University of Richmond and joined the faculty at the business school.  I was happy to be back under the graceful pines at the Robins School teaching classes in economics. The students are what it is all about and I wanted to do the same for someone else.”

Dr. Cook’s love of teaching earned him the Robins School of Business Outstanding Teaching Award in 1999.  He is a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon and Beta Gamma Sigma.  His research has focused on Social Security, as well as law and economics.  Persistence and a love for adventure have fueled Dr. Cook’s journey, and will continue to provide inspiration for him as he enters an exciting new chapter in life.

The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia has named KimMarie McGoldrick, professor of economics at the Robins School of Business, the recipient of a 2008 Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award.

The award, sponsored by Dominion, is the highest honor given by the commonwealth to faculty from all sectors of higher education in Virginia. It recognizes superior accomplishment in teaching, research, knowledge integration and service to the professor’s institution and the public. Winners receive a $5,000 stipend

McGoldrick, who has been teaching at Richmond since 1992, is praised by her students and colleagues for incorporating service, experience and connections to the real world into her work.

“Dr. McGoldrick’s teachings enabled me to look beyond the seemingly plain economic data and statistics and visualize the individual people and decisions that are enveloped within the numbers,” former student Jerry Holly said.

Robert Schmidt, chairman of the economics department, said, “When I assess a colleague’s body of work, I ask the question, has she made an impact in her fields. For KimMarie, the answer is unequivocally yes.”

Dean Jorge Haddock praised McGoldrick as an exemplary scholar and teacher “who combines her talent for research with her passion for inspiring our students to advance the body of knowledge.”

McGoldrick conducts research in economics education and labor market information.  Her most recent research has been developing and assessing new methods of economics education, with a focus on service learning and cooperative research.  She has published two books, “Putting the Invisible Hand to Work: Concepts and Models of Service Learning in Economics” and “Valuing Us All: Feminist Pedagogy and Economics.” Her research has been published by The Journal of Economic Education, the American Economist and Feminist Economics, among others.  

McGoldrick has helped organize eleven economics education workshops since 1996. Her most recent efforts contribute to the NSF-funded Teaching Innovations Program, which promotes the scholarship of teaching and learning in addition to traditional workshop activities.  She is a member of the Society of Economic Educators and the American Economics Association’s Committee on Economic Education, and a former board member of AEA’s Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession.  

McGoldrick received her B.S. in accounting from the State University of New York at Oswego and holds both master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

An active participant in the university community, she has served on many committees and advisory boards, including the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement steering committee, Women Involved in Living and Learning advisory board, and the Service Learning advisory board.   

McGoldrick and 11 other 2008 OFA winners from public and private colleges and universities in the commonwealth were introduced on the floor of the General Assembly and received their awards in a ceremony at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond. 

With a new Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship as part of the new Queally Hall building expansion and international studies at an all-time peak, it was the Robins School’s great fortune to have a visiting international business scholar whose research focuses on innovation.

In February, the Robins School welcomed Dr. Rossitsa Chobanova of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences as a Visiting International Scholar.  Dr. Chobanova is an associate professor and senior researcher at the Institute of Economics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and Chair of the Economics Ph.D. Program.  She is responsible for initiating and carrying out national and international research projects and for the research seminar at the Institute.  Her academic research has appeared in academic publications around the world, including China, Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Russia, and the United Kingdom. 

While at the University, Dr. Chobanova met with two undergraduate classes, Global Information Technology and International Competitiveness, and the MBA Venture Planning class.  She was guest speaker at the Robins School Faculty Research lunch, where she spoke on Innovativeness of a National Economy.  Her daughter, Mira Kovacheva, is a Robins School rising senior. 

At the Robins School Convocation the following 4 faculty members were recognized for their commitment to research, teaching and service.

Excellence in Research
Dr. Steve Thompson, Management
Dr. Monika Kukar-Kinney, Marketing

Excellence in Teaching
Dr. Jim Monks, Economics Outstanding Service
Dr. Dean Croushore, Economics

Dean D. Croushore - Presentations Given
Croushore, D. D., Workshop on Using Euro Area Data, "Frontiers of Real-Time Data Analysis," Euro Area Business Cycle Network, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, U.K.. (March 27, 2008).

Croushore, D. D., Seminar series, ""Revisions to PCE Inflation Measures"," Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA. (February 8, 2008).

Croushore, D. D., Allied Social Science Association Meetings, "Discussion of "Why Did the Fed Act Gradually?"," American Economic Association, New Orleans. (January 6, 2008).

Croushore, D. D., Allied Social Science Association Meetings, "Revisions to PCE Inflation Measures: Implications for Monetary Policy," American Economic Association, New Orleans. (January 6, 2008).

Joe B. Hoyle - Books
Hoyle, J. B., Schaefer, T. F., Doupnik, T. S. (2008). In Tim Vertovec (Ed.), Advanced Accounting (ed., pp. 900). Chicago, Illinois: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Hoyle, J. B., Schaefer, T. F., Doupnik, T. S. (2008). In Tim Vertovec (Ed.), Essentials of Advanced Accounting (ed., pp. 600). Chicago, Illinois: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Presentations Given
Hoyle, J. B., Symposium for Educators, "Patterning Student Learning," Prentice-Hall. (March 1, 2008).

Hoyle, J. B., Symposium for Educators, "Patterning Student Learning," Prentice-Hall. (February 23, 2008).

Dr. Andy A. Litteral - Conference Proceedings
Walk, E., Litteral, L. A. (2008). In Barry A. Wray, 2008 SE DSI Program Chair (Ed.), Examining Supply And Demand Constraints On Enrollments In Part-Time Graduate Programs (pp. 1013-1022). Orlando, Florida: The 2008 Southeast Decision Sciences Institute Conference Proceedings. http://www.sedsi.org/

KimMarie McGoldrick - Presentations Given
McGoldrick, K., Greenlaw, S., ASSA, "Practicing What We Preach: Undergraduate Research Experiences in Economics," New Orleans. (January 2008).

Robert A. Phillips - Book Chapters
Phillips, R. A., Freeman, R. E. (2008). Corporate Citizenship and Community Stakeholders. Edward Elgar Handbook of Research on Corporate Citizenship.