October 14, 2024

Olu Onafowora, department head and professor of economics at Susquehanna University, is named among the top 20% of the nation’s leading Black economists based on the number of times his research has been cited by others in the field.

In a journal article in the Review of Black Political Economy, Onafowora, who also serves as the Warehime Chair in the Sigmund Weis School of Business, is ranked at No. 40 out of 200 counterparts from Brown, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton and Yale universities.

“We are incredibly proud to see Professor Onafowora recognized as one of the national leaders in his field. This honor not only highlights his groundbreaking contributions to economic research but also reinforces the caliber of our faculty at the Sigmund Weis School of Business,” said Matt Rousu, dean of the business school. “His leadership and expertise inspire both his colleagues and students, and his recognition is a testament to the impact that dedicated scholarship can have, both in shaping young minds and influencing the future of the discipline.”

The article, the first of its kind in more than 20 years, revisits the study of the research productivity and impact of Black economists. The ranking gives explicit recognition and acknowledgement to top-quality Black economists within the economics profession, which remains largely white and male, the article authors write. The study also provides to Black undergraduate and graduate students role models who are specifically perceived as highly productive within the mainstream economics profession, they add.

Onafowora joined the faculty at Susquehanna University in 1989 and has served as economics department chair since 2010. Under his leadership, the program is ranked No. 33 among U.S. liberal arts colleges. Onafowora is a graduate of the University of Ife in Ile-Ife, Nigeria, and received his master’s degree and doctorate from West Virginia University.

His scholarly and teaching expertise is in principles of macroeconomics and microeconomics, intermediate microeconomics, labor economics, economic development, public finance, third world economics and managerial economics.

Onafowora has published more than 40 scholarly articles and has presented more than 50 conference papers at international, national and regional conferences in disciplinary and interdisciplinary combinations of these areas.