Michael Connell

We live in an increasingly complex world. We have access to an incomprehensible amount of knowledge, and yet the amount of information available and access to that information grows daily.

Young people need a guide to organize that knowledge and show them to the path. In the beginning, they need someone to tell them what is important and why it is important. Later, they need someone to teach them how to analyze information and think critically about that information. I believe that is the role of the faculty member.

A faculty member must pick and choose what to learn for those who are not yet ready to make those decisions for themselves. They need someone with the judgment and maturity to make those decisions. They need someone who can make the incomprehensible comprehensible and then teach them to make the same decisions for themselves as they grow and mature.

I love to learn about the roles that economics and law play in the organization and well-being of society. I love the process of sharing my learning with others in the hope of imparting a similar understanding of society and inspiring a love of learning.

I am not naive enough to believe that I can do this for every student, but I am foolish enough to hope that I do that for some, and perhaps, many students.

Complex Systems

Austrian School of Economics

The Role of Property and Contract in Wealth Creation

Public Policy Analysis

Innovation, Change and Growth

B.S. – University of Illinois, 1976

M.S. – University of Illinois, 1982

J.D., Ph.D. – University of Illinois, 1986

Business 105: Introduction to Commerce

Business 322: Legal Environment

Economics 340: Law & Economics

Economics 380: Environmental Economics

Economics 401: Public Policy Analysis