LEADERSHIP TEAM

Jill Caviglia-Harris

Salisbury University

José M. Fernández

University of Louisville

Elaine Frey

California State University Fullerton

Lacey Bodnar

Research Project Manager

PRODUCTION TEAM

Christopher Booker

Video Producer

Michael Tabb

Video Animator

SEASON 1 CONTRIBUTORS

Jill Caviglia-Harris

Salisbury University

Kim Holder

University of Tennesee at Chattanooga

José M. Fernández

University of Louisville

Sarah Jacobson

Williams College

Jimena González-Ramírez

Manhattan College

Luke Jones

Valdosta State University

SEASON 2 CONTRIBUTORS

Jill Caviglia-Harris

Salisbury University

Jimena González-Ramírez

Manhattan College

José M. Fernández

University of Louisville

Luke Jones

Valdosta State University

Elaine Frey

California State University Fullerton

Mohammad Movahed

Valdosta State University

ADVISORY BOARD

Abdullah Al-Bahrani

Northern Kentucky University

Cardiff Garcia

Co-founder Bazaar Audio

Vicki L. Bogan

Duke University

Martha Olney

University of California, Berkley

Justin Wolfers

University of Michigan

Our work includes developing educational modules for introductory college-level economics courses and testing the use of these modules on college campuses to determine their impact on student perceptions, identity, and persistence in economics.

Our Uncommon Econ modules include videos and curriculum materials that:

highlight applied economics research focused on real-world issues,
connect cutting-edge scholarly work directly to principles-level concepts., and
amplify the voice of diverse economists who explain their research directly to students.

The short, professionally produced, open-source videos developed by Uncommon Econ are aligned with Principles of Economics topics. Each video includes free, easy-to-use teaching materials and research briefs making them easy to integrate into your class.

We are evaluating the efficacy of our Uncommon Econ videos through a randomized controlled trial and are actively recruiting Principles of Microeconomics instructors (click to apply now). Our first season of episodes focused on microeconomics is in production.

Uncommon Econ is funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education and the American Economic Association's Committee on the Status of Women in the Economics Profession in partnership with the Social Science Research Council's Women in Economics and Mathematics Research Consortium.

At Uncommon Econ, we strive to deliver an enriched learning experience through research-based videos, a connected curriculum, and a wide range of instructors.

We hypothesize that the role modeling, active learning experiences, and exposure to exciting research provided by these video modules will:

influence perceptions about economics;
build students’ sense of belonging, economic identity, and self-efficacy; and
improve learning, persistence, and retention in economics.

The easy-to-use modules will also provide professional development for economics instructors to help them better meet the needs of students from a wide range of backgrounds.

We target undergraduate principles of economics courses with the aim of broadening perceptions of who economists are and what they study, increasing student sense of belonging in economics, and increasing the probability that diverse students continue in economics. We envision an economics discipline that values and welcomes a variety of perspectives that together contribute to creating solutions for a better world.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

(c) 2026 Uncommon Econ Questions? Contact Us! This work is funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education under grant DUE-2315696 and the CSWEP-SSRC Women in Economics and Mathematics Research Consortium.

(c) 2026 Uncommon Econ
Questions? Contact Us!

This work is funded by the National Science Foundation, Division of Undergraduate Education under grant DUE-2315696 and the CSWEP-SSRC Women in Economics and Mathematics Research Consortium.