Posted 10 a.m. Monday, June 20, 2022
James Murray wins 2022 Eagle Teaching Excellence Award
UW-La Crosse is home to many outstanding faculty who make a difference in students’ lives inside and outside the classroom. This year, UWL’s Provost Office received more than 500 nominations from students hoping to recognize their favorite teachers. From these nominations, a university committee selected six faculty to receive 2022 Eagle Teaching Excellence Awards. The winners will be honored during Chancellor Joe Gow’s opening remarks for the fall semester.
They are:
- Ben Haenni, Chemistry & Biochemistry
- Maggie Laufenberg, Health Professions
- Ronda Leahy, Communication Studies
- Lisa Lenarz, Art
- James Murray, Economics
- Jason Sumontha, Psychology
This is the fifth of six stories highlighting the winners.
James Murray, Economics
Started at UWL: 2009 (2000 UWL alum)
Courses: I teach frameworks for analyzing economic questions like the following: Why are some countries rich and others relatively poor? Why do some economies grow quickly, and others grow slowly? Why do we sometimes experience episodes of unemployment or inflation? Is there anything we can do to solve these problems?
Background: I earned a master's degree in economics from the University of Notre Dame in 2002, then a Ph.D. in Economics from Indiana University in 2008. I taught economics and statistics classes at Indiana University and Indiana University-Purdue University at Columbus while working on my Ph.D. I was then an assistant professor at Viterbo University in La Crosse for a year before coming to UWL.
Favorite part of teaching: Using the purple whiteboard marker. When analyzing economic issues with graphical models, I use color to emphasize meaning and I always progress in the order: blue to red to purple. When I break out the purple marker, something really exciting is about to happen!