Posted 12:22 p.m. Monday, March 27, 2023
Dutta, Stivers bring fresh ideas, leadership to Menard Family Initiative
The UW-La Crosse Menard Family Initiative has two new faces at the top.
Professor Nabamita Dutta and Associate Professor Adam Stivers were recently named co-directors of the initiative, succeeding former economics Instructor Adam Hoffer. The initiative, launched in 2019, seeks to strengthen research and engagement on the benefits of free market institutions and associated outcomes in the Coulee Region. Focus areas include, but are not limited to, entrepreneurship and its implications, free speech and the associated layers, financial regulations and what that means for business among others.
Dutta and Stivers say they are grateful for the Menard family’s continued support to the initiative under their new leadership. The pair say they look forward to exploring new opportunities while building upon past successes.
“We’d both been involved with MFI in some capacity before this, and the opportunity to be co-directors was exciting,” says Stivers, who specializes in investments, asset pricing and behavioral finance, and is in UWL’s Finance Department. “The themes of the MFI and the chance to go in a bit of a new direction really appealed to me.”
Dutta, who teaches in UWL’s Economics Department, says it’s beneficial that she and Stivers come from different but related academic backgrounds.
This interdisciplinary approach, she says, will enhance student learning and create more opportunities for collaboration.
“With academic research in general, you sort of stay in silos and don’t often connect with other disciplines,” explains Dutta, who studies institutional economics, development economy, political economy, entrepreneurship and the economics of gender. “Our broad theme is understanding the role of the free market in several contexts — cultural, economic, financial and more. We’re hoping to bring all these pieces together and merge our two different approaches.”
To give students and faculty from different disciplines in the College of Business an idea of the nexus between academics and the real world, Dutta and Stivers planned a one-day economics conference last fall. Among other things, the event included a business panel where invited academics (economists) participated along with local entrepreneurs to discuss entrepreneurship and its implications for the region.
Dutta and Stivers also hope to continue the initiative’s guest speaker series, which exposes business students and others to unique, insightful perspectives on a range of issues.
Two such events are planned for the spring semester: one featuring David Audretsch from Indiana University on March 31, and another featuring Timur Kuran from Duke University on April 20 (rescheduled from Feb. 22). As part of the March 31 event, two additional economists and local entrepreneurs will discuss their experiences.
“If I’m talking about entrepreneurship, for example, I can give students an academic point of view. But I’m not an entrepreneur myself, and I can’t give them that perspective,” Dutta explains. “So, it’s nice that we can bring in these speakers and give students that other perspective. They’re able to hear from entrepreneurs as well as policymakers, which is an opportunity they wouldn’t get otherwise.”
In another key program, the initiative is partnering with the UWL Small Business Development Center to arrange student internships at the Coulee Region Business Center, a local business incubator.
These students will have the chance to research business-related projects, provide client consulting support and assist with training programs — all while learning from an experienced mentor.
Additionally, the initiative is accepting submissions for the spring issue of MFI Briefs. This semester’s publication will explore the value of an undergraduate business degree when starting and running a business. Submissions by students, faculty and the local business community are welcome by the March 31 deadline.
Dutta and Stivers note that they are looking for additional ways to provide experiential learning for students along with much-needed support for local businesses.
But while the initiative is known for high-level research and specialized programming, they hope it can be a resource for anyone interested in building stronger communities throughout western Wisconsin.
“We’re hoping to start some new research and some new projects, and we’d like it to be digestible for people who aren’t academics,” Stivers says. “We want to look at the data for our region and greater Wisconsin and really identify what’s working, what’s not working and how we can move things forward.”
About the Menard Family Initiative
The Menard Family Midwest Initiative for Economic Engagement and Research at UWL is led by Co-Directors Adam Stivers and Nabamita Dutta. The initiative hosts events and semester-long discussion groups, provides scholarships and other opportunities, and promotes economic-related topics to the campus and the community.