To: Members of the American Economic Association
From: Peter L. Rousseau, Secretary-Treasurer
Subject: Winners of the AEA Awards for Diversity and Inclusion

The American Economic Association is proud to announce the winners of newly-established awards to promote diversity and inclusion in the economics profession. The awards were presented on January 4, 2021 at the virtual Annual AEA Meeting.

The Department of Economics at The University of Missouri – Columbia is the inaugural winner of the AEA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion. This award is given to recognize departments and organizations demonstrating outstanding achievement in diversity and inclusion practices. The steps taken by the University of Missouri, as outlined in their application that can be read here, clearly reflect the AEA’s best practices and include well-designed initiatives throughout its activities. These efforts expand beyond the goal of increasing diversity within the department to the profession more broadly.

AEA Departmental Seed Grants for Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion were awarded to two institutions in 2020: Georgia State University and Southern Methodist University. Each department received $5,000 for their efforts.

Georgia State University (GSU) will use the seed money funds to construct a pipeline of underrepresented minorities into their PhD program from undergraduate students at Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Georgia State University. GSU’s location in the Atlanta area makes it an attractive choice for African-American students. The program is committed to recruiting 1-3 students from these institutions per year. GSU will reduce barriers to entry by waiving the GRE requirement and constructing an automatic admission process for high performing students from these institutions. Admitted students from this program will also receive financial support.

Southern Methodist University (SMU) will construct a program called SMƱRM targeting undergraduate students. Approximately 30 percent of SMU’s student body identifies with an underrepresented group. The program will use the seed money to finance undergraduate research assistantships in the Department of Economics and internships with the Bush Institute, and to develop a mentorship program to identify and encourage students to seek master's and PhD programs. SMU’s location and association with the Bush Institute give it an advantage in offering opportunities to students who are interested in immigration to perform research and receive college credit. The model for this program is based on the successful program SMU has used to increase the representation of women in the undergraduate program.

The Andrew Brimmer Undergraduate Essay Prize winner is Alladin Dafalla from the University of Northern Iowa. His essay “Homeownership amongst Black Americans” reflects what economists should expect of fine scholarship, telling us not only "what" the facts are but also "why we should care." The Association recognizes Mr. Dafalla for his achievement with a $1,000 check as the inaugural prize winner.

Please join the AEA in congratulating all of these winners for their time and effort invested in addressing and promoting diversity and inclusion within the economics profession. To view the 2021 AEA Awards ceremony in its entirety, visit AEA 2021 Awards Ceremony. For more information on these awards and others, visit https://www.aeaweb.org/about-aea/committees/csmgep/diversity-initiatives.