Tsvetan Tsvetanov to give Shutz Lecture May 4
LAWRENCE — A decorated University of Kansas economics professor will offer an inside look into his energy and environmental economics research and how it influences his teaching goals and approach in the classroom.
Tsvetan Tsvetanov, De-Min and Chin-Sha Wu Associate Professor of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, will deliver the annual Shutz Lecture at 3:30 p.m. May 4. A reception in his honor will immediately follow. The lecture, “Understanding and Teaching the Fundamentals of Decision-Making,” will take place in the Beren Petroleum Conference Center, Slawson Hall G192.
Tsvetanov was recently honored with the Byron T. Shutz Award for Excellence in Teaching and is KU’s 36th recipient of the award. In his research, Tsvetanov has explored topics related to renewable energy adoption, energy efficiency investments, resource conservation and climate change effects.
“My research is in the area of energy and environmental economics,” Tsvetanov said. “I aim to gain a better understanding of the factors that drive individuals in their energy-related decisions and utilize my findings to derive recommendations for policies that can be used to influence these individuals’ decisions.”
At KU, he teaches courses in microeconomics, energy economics and environmental economics. He has taught at various levels, ranging from introductory undergraduate courses to the doctoral level.
The environmental and energy economist joined KU in 2015 and held the distinction of Oswald Scholar for the first six years after his arrival. Tsvetanov received the Charles W. Oswald Teaching Award from the Department of Economics in 2018 and served a one-year term as the director of graduate programs and associate chair in the department that ended in the spring of 2022. He received the De-Min and Chin-Sha Wu Award in 2022. The award honors excellence among associate professors in the Department of Economics.
Tsvetanov has a courtesy appointment with the KU Environmental Studies Program and is an affiliated faculty member for the Institute for Policy & Social Research, the Center for Environmental Policy and the Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies. Before joining KU, he was a postdoctoral associate at Yale University.
Tsvetanov has published more than a dozen scholarly articles in various peer-reviewed journals, including the top field journals Journal of Environmental Economics and Management and Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
Tsvetanov obtained his bachelor’s degree at Vassar College in New York with a double major in economics and German studies. He obtained his master’s degree from Columbia University and a doctorate in agricultural and resource economics from the University of Connecticut.
KU established the Byron T. Shutz Award in 1978 to recognize distinguished teaching by a KU faculty member. Each year the award alternates between honoring outstanding teaching in any discipline and teaching in the fields of economics and business. The award’s namesake received the Distinguished Service Citation in 1963, KU’s highest recognition.