A revered professor who learns all his students’ names, Tade Okediji is perhaps best known for his course Economic Development in Contemporary Africa, in which students delve into the complexities of economic development in African countries.
“He breaks down economic principles for students who lack a heavy background in economics, while also presenting pressing social and political issues,” says a student of the course. “Interwoven through his lectures are personal anecdotes that help students connect content to realities.”
“This was not only the most rigorous and enlightening class during my undergraduate career, but the only class where the other students and I felt confident that the professor genuinely cared about our intellectual growth and well-being as individuals,” says another student.
Teaching economics requires balancing two things: techniques that help students overcome their fears of numbers/graphs, and ensuring students’ grasp of the importance of numbers/graphs to issues that matter to them.--Tade O. Okediji
In their Principles of Microeconomics courses, Okediji and a colleague set up an “international tribunals” exercise, where students were assigned to present opposing arguments on economic issues to a jury of peers—an innovation that sharpened students’ abilities to analyze data and communicate clearly.
Okediji has also served his department as coordinator for its undergraduate applied economics major, chair of its Undergraduate Committee, and faculty liaison for its participation in the University’s Writing Enrichment Curriculum program.
“Dr. Okediji’s tirelessness has been critical to the progress we have made in our department,” notes a colleague.
