Ann Velenchik
Associate Professor of Economics and Writing
Development economist with interest in Africa and labor markets; interest in economics pedagogy and active learning; writing across the curriculum
My work is in the general area of labor markets and household behavior in Africa. I have worked on migration, apprenticeship, the relationship between company size and wages and, most recently, on an interdisciplinary approach to questions of intrahousehold resource allocation. I have worked in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Zimbabwe and also done work on Senegal and Malawi. I spent six years as the Director of Wellesley's Writing Program, and one year directing all of Wellesley's First-Year academic programs. I believe that I am the only economist among the many members of the Writing Program Administrators organization. I am especially interested in the combination of writing and quantitative reasoning.
My teaching portfolio has included a writing course entitled Wealth and Poverty in America, which looks at the distribution of income in the United States over the past three decades, and economics courses including Principles of Microeconomics, Intermediate Microeconomics, International Trade, and Economic Development. I am particularly interested in active learning techniques in economics, and in writing in the economics curriculum and have written and published several pieces on the use of the case method in the economics classroom. Most recently, I have participated in the development of a Web resource for teachers of economics as part of an NSF-funded project.
In the Dean's office my portfolio includes Science and Social Science Departments and matters related to curriculum and instruction.
I am married to an economist and the mom of two great kids. I like theaters, restaurants, and elegant bars, but I spend more of my time at sports fields and school auditoriums watching my children play and perform. I do a little performing myself─you can find some of my work at Wellesley's iTunes U site.
Education
- B.S., Georgetown University
- Ph.D., Stanford University
Current and upcoming courses
Having it All? The Problem of Women and Work
WRIT133
American women often hear messages that they can "have it all"--a meaningful career, a loving family, and a fulfilling personal life. Yet popular culture is also filled with images of working mothers as stressed-out and miserable. In this course we will examine the highly varied aspirations, opportunities, and experiences of American women as they relate to work. We will consider some of the advice high-powered professional women have given to college graduates looking to advance their careers and "balance" that ambition with family life. We will read memoirs of low-wage earners, including many single mothers, about the particular challenges they face, and the limits that discrimination and systemic inequities place on their personal and professional goals. We will also explore what social scientists have to say about how cultural norms and economic markets generate the opportunities and constraints that women face. Finally, we will analyze how public policy at the local and national level influences the choices women and families face, and how those choices affect society more broadly.
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Principles of Microeconomics
ECON101
This first course in economics provides the fundamental tools for exploration of the field. Microeconomics considers the decisions of households and firms about what to consume and what to produce, and the efficiency and equity of market outcomes. Supply and demand analysis is developed and applied. Policy issues include price controls, competition and monopoly, income inequality , and the role of government in market economies. Students who have AP or IB credit in economics, and who elect ECON 101, forfeit the AP or IB credit. ECON 101P is an alternative course open to students who have not fulfilled the Quantitative Reasoning (QR) component of the Quantitative Reasoning & Data Literacy requirement.