The Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award from the Southern Economic Association annually honors one or more faculty members for outstanding contributions to economics education. Nominations for the 2019 awards will be solicited from economics department heads, from each institution in the southern part of the United States, in the spring of 2019. Nominees who are not selected are automatically placed in the pool of nominees for the subsequent year for a period of three years.
Ken Elzinga, Robert C. Taylor Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia,- first recipient of the Cavaliers’ Distinguished Teaching Professorship – is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished, effective, and influential educators in the economics profession during a distinguished teaching and research career at the University of Virginia, that has spanned over 35 years. Ken is creative and versatile in the classroom sharing his thoughts effectively with large groups of students studying the principles of economics, and using the Socratic Method, when working with students in a more advanced setting. He is a pioneer in the use of literature to explore economic reasoning which led to his writing murder mysteries that can be solved by careful economic analysis. Ken’s style of instruction and commitment to helping students develop an understanding of and appreciation for economic reasoning and insights serve as an inspiration for economic educators, so it is fitting for exemplary economic educators to be honored with an award in his name.
The winner for 2018 is:
- Dr. Anthony M. Carilli
The winner was announced at the 2018 meeting of the Southern Economic Association® in Washington, DC on Monday, November 19, and was awarded a plaque and a cash award.
Citation for the 2018 recipient
Anthony M. Carilli
Tony Carilli (BA, Hartwick College, 1983; PhD, Northeastern University, 1991) is a Professor of Economics at Hampden-Sydney College in Farmville, VA.
Professor Carilli has been instrumental in shaping the lives of thousands of students in economics, many of whom have gone on to professional careers as teachers, scholars, and practitioners of economics in the academy, business, and the public/non-profit sector. Their success in and dedication to economics is a testament to his approach to the teaching of economics.
Professor Carilli has taught the one-semester Introduction to Economics course for 27 years at Hampden-Sydney College. Carilli teaches as if this course will be his students’ only exposure to economics. As a result, it often becomes the first of many economics classes that his students take while pursuing their degrees at H-SC. Carilli’s engaging and interactive approach draws students into the discipline of economics. He has the ability to get students excited about how they can use economics to answer big, important questions about the world in which we live.
Under Professor Carilli’s leadership the Introduction to Economics class at H-SC was transformed into a common curricular offering that serves almost 250 students per year, and includes rigorous common testing across the course sections. Professor Carilli has the responsibility of administering the entire program for four faculty members and nine course sections each year. It is this course that generates majors and often turns majors into graduate students. Those students who pursue graduate degrees are so influenced by their own experience at H-SC that they often decide to become professors of economics themselves.
In addition to his excellence in the classroom, Professor Carilli is known across campus as one of the most approachable faculty members. His office door is always open, and it is common to see him interacting with students for hours on end. He truly mentors his students both in and out of the classroom, interacting with them at numerous functions around campus, both day and night. For years, he worked with students at Hampden-Sydney’s volunteer fire department. He and his wife, Tracy, often invite students to their campus home for a well-prepared, authentic Italian dinner. In addition, Professor Carilli has developed a career as a professional baseball umpire working for the NCAA.
Professor Carilli is an exemplary teacher, mentor, and colleague, and fits the description of a master teacher-scholar. Throughout his career, he has remained an active researcher and has performed dedicated service to the Southern Economic Association, where he has served as President for one of its affiliated associations, and the Virginia Association of Economics, where he currently serves as Treasurer.
Professor Carilli has dedicated his career to the craft of communicating the economic way of thinking to his students while remaining committed to excellence in research, professional service, and the mentoring of others in classroom instruction. We are most pleased to honor him as the 2018 recipient of the Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award.
Past Recipients
| 2017 | Lee Coppock (University of Virginia) |
| 2016 | Tisha Lin Nakao Emerson (Baylor University) |
| 2015 | Leah Greden Mathews (University of North Carolina-Asheville) |
| 2014 | Peter W. Shuhmann (University of North Carolina-Wilmington) |
| 2013 | Gail Mitchell Hoyt (University of Kentucky) |
| 2012 | Michael K. Salemi (The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) |
| 2011 | Richard V. Butler (Trinity University) |
| 2010 | Paul Grimes (Mississippi State University) Jill Caviglia Harris (Salisbury University) |
| 2009 | KimMarie McGoldrick (University of Richmond) |
| 2008 | Julie Heath (The University of Memphis) Charles Holt (University of Virginia) |
| 2007 | Richard J. Cebula (Atlantic Armstrong State University) |
| 2006 | Sheryl Ball (Virginia Tech) Stephen Buckles (Vanderbilt University) Russell Sobel (West Virginia University) |
| 2005 | Steven L. Cobb (University of North Texas) Tom McCaleb (Florida State University) |
| 2004 | Thomas J. Nechyba (Duke University) L. Wayne Plumly, Jr. (Valdosta State University) |
| 2003 | Craufurd Goodwin (Duke University) Dennis O’Toole (Virginia Commonwealth University) Jason White (Northwest Missouri State University) |
| 2002 | William Darity, Jr. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) William C. Wood (James Madison University) |