Chris Sullivan is in his fifth year with a focus on Labor and Industrial Organizations. Chris recently received the Rackham Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award! Chris’ nomination was enthusiastically supported by Jim Adams, who noted his excellence and dedication to teaching by going above and beyond the call of duty. Below are a few excerpts from Jim’s recommendation of Chris for this award:

“Sullivan, is one of the most versatile and intellectually ambitious assistants I have ever worked with…Especially impressively, Sullivan tends to have especially high standards for the students. As the E&E comments confirm, he belies the common belief that a teacher won’t be viewed positively by students if (s)he grades rigorously. Because he himself walks the walk of committing to the course, students actually appreciate his high expectations of them…Sullivan deserves tremendous credit for developing course content. In addition to his skills and commitment, inside and outside the classroom; Sullivan is the archetype of academic integrity. There is no task, personal or professional, with which I would hesitate to entrust him.”

Carrie Xu is a PhD Candidate in her fifth year. Carrie recently received the Rackham Pre-Doctoral Fellowship! She will be a Pre-Doctoral Fellow for the Fall 2016-Winter 2017 academic year. Carrie's research topic focuses on the economics of education and social network analysis, working with peer effects particularly in college STEM education. Carrie is studying both in the Department of Economics and the School of Information, advised by Tanya Rosenblat and Brian Jacob. Below are a few excerpts from Tanya’s recommendation of Carrie for this award:

“Carrie is undoubtedly a star with an extraordinary potential for future productive scholarship and a successful academic career. Carrie is getting two doctoral degrees: in the Department of Economics and at the School of Information. She is the first person to ever attempt a dual degree. She has been nominated for this fellowship by both units…She is highly self-motivated and actively pursuing an academic career by embracing excellence in research, teaching and service. Her ability to identify interesting real-world problems, design and implement research studies is exceptional…Carrie works with the Science Learning Center (SLC) at the University of Michigan to evaluate the study group program which has helped thousands of students go through challenging introductory STEM courses. Her findings promote more female student participation in the program, and she is one of the first to use detailed course website usage data to identify key mechanisms through which peer effects operate…Carrie exhibits an extraordinary level of entrepreneurship compared to other Ph.D. students. She actively expands her research scope and actively seeks out unique opportunities. Her recent ongoing project aims at pushing the frontier of the research on gender differences in competitiveness…Carrie also distinguishes herself from other graduate students by being able to productively coauthor with other students. I have no doubt that Carrie will produce high quality research and become a successful scholar with international reputation.”

Congratulations again to Chris and Carrie! UM Economics is proud to have both of you among our ranks!