With generous support from the Provost Office’s Academic Enhancement Fee (AEF) fund, the Department of Economics recently unveiled its new collaboration space, the Economics Learning Center (ELC), in Stevenson Hall 439. The multipurpose space promotes active engagement, fosters collaborative opportunities, and builds stronger peer-to-peer relationships and peer-to-faculty interactions.
Highlights include a variety of work areas—a space for individual focus and academic work, a space for collaborative work, and a multipurpose common area as a student lounge that can easily be converted to a space for group work, presentations, student organization meetings, and meetings with the community to strengthen the department’s relationship with the Bloomington-Normal community. The tech-friendly addition to the department is conveniently located between the two computer labs and adjacent to the two fourth-floor classrooms that house many economics classes.
The department chair, Dr. Dimitrios Nikolaou, said, “By creating such an inclusive space, we can enhance student learning not only of graduate students and undergraduate students who major or minor in Economics but also of students who enroll in economics courses as part of their plan of study.” This project can also assist with the department’s goal of recruiting and retaining more female and underrepresented students in economics by creating an inclusive, safe space to organize their meetings. “Our goal with a multi-functional space like the Economics Learning Center is to support the success of all students across colleges in our university by enhancing their in-class and out-of-class learning opportunities and helping them realize the importance and beauty of Economics. We are excited to see every student, no matter their major, utilize this space!” Nikolaou continued.
The ELC complements the department’s recruitment effort, funded through the Provost Innovation and Enhancement (PIE) grant since 2022. The PIE grant project aims to increase awareness of the economics program through targeted enrollment strategies and create a sense of community for current students and alums by actively participating in the recruitment campaign on social media. In addition to serving current students, the ELC welcomes prospective students as the department hosts its Academic Presentations in the ELC. This inviting space has already impressed visiting high school students who can envision a work area to brainstorm and socialize with peers and the faculty when when they join the Redbird family in the near future.
