I commend The Daily Utah Chronicle for its excellent coverage of the complex changes affecting higher education in our state. While The Chronicle’s recent piece on the proposed School of Economics is another valuable contribution, I feel compelled to correct two key points.
First, the article cites a 2017 Deseret News editorial that seriously mischaracterized our department’s work. It would have been helpful to note that this claim was rejected at the time by then-CSBS Dean Berg and Chair Waitzman in an op-ed, and that similar claims have since been sharply criticized by the distinguished economists who conducted our recent Graduate Council Review.
Second, a recently retired Finance Department faculty member claims that “the research output of the people who teach in QAMO is far above the research output of the people who teach in economics.” This is inaccurate. According to Academic Analytics — a source the U heavily relies on — our department ranks near the top among economics departments at AAU public universities for publications per faculty member. QAMO is not included in Academic Analytics. However, other standard measures, such as h-indexes from the authoritative source Clarivate’s Web of Science, show a comparable level of research productivity and scientific impact for QAMO and Economics faculty over the past decade. Of the 10 highest-ranked faculty by h-index across both groups, 8 are from Economics, despite carrying heavier teaching loads and operating with fewer resources in CSBS compared to the Eccles School.
Developing a new School of Economics is an exciting and promising challenge. Its success, however, depends on moving beyond persistent mischaracterizations and ensuring that public discussion is grounded in evidence, and remains cognizant of the actual Department of Economics, not an imaginary one.
— Thomas Maloney, Chair of the Department of Economics at the University of Utah
