Ten Years Later: Profiles of PhD Graduates

By Quentin Wodon

The stories of nine students who have graduated from the PhD program in economics at American University since the 1990s were captured in the interviews below. Stories of former graduates can help not only in suggesting the types of career that students may aspire to when they complete their degree, but also in defining the unique characteristics of a particular graduate program or university. The AU economics department is highly diverse, with a truly international student body. Beyond diverse backgrounds in terms of nationalities, a more important unifying theme in these profiles is that all of them take social issues to heart and use their economics training to contribute to policies that improve the livelihoods of populations in the United States and around the world. 

Alumni Interviews

Avinash Singh Bhati (PhD '01), Senior Research Associate Justice Policy Center, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C.

Lisa Giddings (PhD '00), Associate Professor of Economics, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, La Crosse, Wisconsin

Mitchell Ginsburg (PhD '03), Senior International Economist, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Washington, D.C.

Dileni Gunewardena (PhD '96), Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Bernhard G. Gunter (PhD '98), President, Bangladesh Development Research Center, Washington, D.C.

Wasiq Khan (PhD '02), Assistant Professor of Economics, Franklin College, Switzerland

Jesmin Rahman (PhD '98), Senior Economist, International Monetary Fund, Washington, D.C.

Jeff Strohl (PhD '02), Director of Research, Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.

Quentin Wodon (PhD '96), Adviser and Program Manager, Development Dialogue on Values and Ethics, World Bank, Washington, D.C.