The Department of Economics is delighted to announce the selection of alumna Gita Gopinath, MA ‘96, as the 2017 Economics Distinguished Alumna. Gopinath joins an impressive group of alumni whose professional achievements and cumulative contributions have brought personal distinction, enhanced the profession, improved the welfare of the general public, and brought honor to the department and the UW.
Gita Gopinath is the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and of Economics at Harvard University, where she has been on the faculty since 2005. Previously, Gopinath was assistant professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. Her research focuses on International Finance and Macroeconomics.
Gopinath attended the University of Washington from 1994-1996, earning her MA in Economics before transferring to Princeton University to complete her PhD in 2001 under advisors Ken Rogoff, Ben Bernanke, and Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas. A native of Mysore, India, Dr. Gopinath also earned degrees in Economics from the Delhi School of Economics (MA) and the University of Delhi (BA with honors).
Gopinath is a visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, member of the economic advisory panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a Managing Editor of the Review of Economic Studies, co-editor of the current Handbook of International Economics, and a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) for the programs in Economic Fluctuations and Growth, International Finance and Macroeconomics, and Monetary Economics. She also served as a member of the Eminent Persons Advisory Group on G-20 Matters for India's Ministry of Finance. In 2011, she was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
This award is presented each June at the Economics graduation celebration, at which time the awardee delivers the commencement address to approximately 700 students and their guests. The 2017 ceremony is scheduled for Tuesday, June 6, 2017 at 3 p.m. in the HUB ballroom.
The Department of Economics is proud to have many notable alumni among its thousands of graduates. Collectively, our alumni have had a profound impact in the public and private sectors of the state, the nation, and the world.