The Graduate Scholar Award is given to a graduating master's student for outstanding academic achievement in the classroom. It is based on grade point average (GPA) and faculty recommendations. This year's winner is Masayoshi Shibata, who was recognized not only for his outstanding GPA, but also for his substantial in-class contributions. Shibata is from Yokahama, Japan, and received his bachelor's degree from Soka University in 2005. He is a May graduate of UD and is now working as a sales/marketing associate for Nishimoto Trading in New Jersey.
The Graduate Research Award is given to the graduating student with the best research paper or thesis. This year two winners, with particularly impressive and original works, were chosen. One of the papers has been developed into an article submitted for publication and the other is well on its way. The winners are Diane Trace for her paper “The Impact of the 1996-1997 Federal Minimum Wage Increase on Pennsylvania Employment Rates” and Jing Li for her thesis, “The Corliss Steam Engine and the U.S. Economy in the Late 19th Century.” Trace, from Malaga, N.J., is an adjunct faculty member in the Department of Economics. She earned her bachelor's degree from Rowan University in 1989. She is married and has four daughters. Li is from Nanjing, China, and earned her bachelor's degree from Nanjing Agricultural University in 2005. She will be continuing her studies at UD in the fall, enrolling in the statistics program.
Trace's research was supervised by Saul Hoffman, chairperson of the Department of Economics. Li wrote her paper under the direction of James Mulligan, professor of economics.
The Department of Economics Dissertation Award is given to the graduating doctoral student with the outstanding dissertation. This year's winner is Joshua Bamfo for his dissertation “Assessing the Impact of the United States Unilateral Preferential Trade Agreement with Sub-Saharan Africa.” Bamfo is from Sekondi, Ghana. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Ghana 1998 and his master's degree from the University of Guelph in Canada in 2001. A May graduate of UD, he will be working in the transfer-pricing division of Ernst and Young in Atlanta. He is married with one son and wrote his thesis under the direction of Evangelos Falaris, professor of economics.
Bamfo, along with Arek Nowak also is a recipient of the Graduate Student Excellence in Teaching Award, given to graduate student teaching assistants for outstanding performance in the classroom. Both student course evaluations and direct in-class observation are used in deciding the recipients. Both of this year's recipients had distinguished teaching careers as teaching assistants. Nowak was born in Gadansk, Poland, and moved to Delaware at the age of 14. He learned English at Smyrna and William Penn high schools. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from UD in 2002 and 2004, respectively and is a doctoral candidate for 2008.