1) Full-time undergraduate student pursuing a degree in economics 2) Junior or senior class level 3) Exhibit overall academic merit 4) Submit a paper written for an economics class that illustrates an interdisciplinary approach to economics by a) combining the analytical methods of economics with the analytical methods of another social science b) applying economic analysis to a cultural, social or political topic or, c) introducing cultural, social or political considerations into an economic analysis of an economic topic 5) Preference shall be given to an Economics major who is pursuing a minor in the social sciences or the humanities
History
Ben Garcia received a B.S. in Economics from Colorado State University in 1981. He continued studying economics at the University of Notre Dame, receiving an M.A. in Economics with an emphasis on Labor Studies in 1983. He began working for Colorado Labor Market Information, a Colorado state government agency that produces the official employment statistics for Colorado, such as the unemployment and job growth numbers. He spent the early part of his career analyzing the Colorado economy, and explaining the analysis to other government agencies, non-profit organizations, the business community, and the news media.
In the mid-1990's Ben developed an interest in the World Wide Web as a vehicle for disseminating the economic information that he helped to produce. He initiated development of one of the first web sites available from the state government in Colorado. While his career changed to one with an information technology focus, he continued his economics career by teaching economics classes for the Colorado Community Colleges and Metropolitan State College.
The purpose of the Fund is to provide scholarships to benefit undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Economics within the College of Liberal Arts at Colorado State University. Specifically for those who are pursuing an interdisciplinary approach to economics by using knowledge from other social science or humanities fields to help explain economic phenomena.