- By Miles Baker
Former AEDE doctoral student and current Associate Professor of Economics at Stetson University, Khushbu Mishra, was recently awarded Stetson University’s Hand Award, a university-wide distinction for the excellence of her research.
This Hand Award recognizes that excellence is to be found in innovative as well as traditional forms of scholarship; in work that contributes to the pedagogical discussion in a discipline or across disciplines as well as work that makes original contributions to knowledge; in work that redefines disciplinary knowledge as well as in work that reinforces it; and in major community outreach projects that demonstrate substantive disciplinary or interdisciplinary knowledge.
Dr. Mishra finished her PhD in the AEDE program under the supervision of her advisor, Abdoul Sam, and co-advisor, Mario Miranda. Her concentration was in gender and development economics, where she explored the impacts of easing financial constraints on women’s agency and productivity. Then, Dr. Mishra joined Stetson University in Florida as an Assistant professor, where she is primarily responsible for teaching undergraduate students. Dr. Mishra draws her teaching from ongoing research in the field, which helps her stay informed in the field and continue her own research.
In the last six years of her career, she has published ten journal articles in highly ranked journals, given invited talks at many academic and non-academic settings, and reviewed articles for highly accredited journals. Additionally, she has provided consulting services to think tanks such as the World Bank, UNDP, and UNICEF, among others.
With this honor, Dr. Mishra hopes to use this opportunity to continue her research career and to further develop partnerships with academic and non-academic professionals at several institutions in the US and other places, for example, Nepal, India, Ghana, Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, etc.
Dr. Mishra said, "I hope that the award will only boost my partnerships further, open new doors for collaboration, and therefore help me produce more meaningful research in the field."
Dr. Mishra expresses her immense gratitude for the support of her OSU advisor, Abdoul Sam, and co-advisor, Mario Miranda, who trusted her to conduct their field experiment in Ghana, which has formed the basis of her thesis work. She would also express similar gratitude to USAID BASIS at UC Davis, which funded the research project. Additionally, these research projects would not have been possible without her co-authors and field team, who equally deserve recognition for their contributions to her research projects. Las
Lastly, Dr. Mishra expressed her gratitude towards her colleagues, stating, "I am so lucky to have wonderful colleagues at my department who are very supportive and appreciative of my work."
AEDE is certainly proud of our Alumni and Dr. Mishra’s accomplishments. Congratulations, and we’re all excited to see you further your career and continue to show excellence in AEDE’s abilities to develop and encourage our students to reach further.