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    Nine professors affiliated with universities across the United States and Canada were recently awarded funding to support faculty research and advance course development.

    The Acton Institute Mini-Grants on Free Market Economics program accepts proposals from faculty members at colleges, seminaries, and universities in the United States and Canada in order to promote the scholarship and teaching of market economics. This program allows for collaboration between faculty from different universities and helps future leaders to emerge, strengthening and expanding the existing network of scholars within economics. Entrants may submit proposals in two broad categories: course development and faculty scholarship.

    Here is the complete list of the 2022 winners and their specific projects:

    Virtue and Markets Undergraduate Colloquium
    Jason Jewell, Professor of Humanities and Director of the Center for Great Books & Human Flourishing, Faulkner University

    Developing a Course in History of Economic Thought at North Dakota State University
    Ray March, Assistant Professor, North Dakota State University

    A History of Christian Political Economy
    Erik Matson, Senior Research Fellow, Mercatus Center

    Teaching Grassroots Freedom in Guatemala
    Russ McCullough, Wayne Angell Chair of Economics and Director, Gwartney Institute, Ottawa University

    Economics and the Problem of Polarization
    Allen Mendenhall, Executive Director, The Manuel H. Johnson Center and Associate Dean, The Sorrell College of Business, Troy University

    Cronyism and Nonmarket Strategy in Lithuania and Romania: A Christian and Economic Perspective
    John Parnell, Professor of Management & Eminent Scholar of Business, University of North Alabama

    Usury, Dante, and the Birth of Capitalism
    Alexander Schmid, Graduate Assistant/Instructor, Louisiana State University

    Catholic Social Thought and Healthcare Economics
    Michael Szpindor Watson, Assistant Professor of Economics, Belmont Abbey College

    Course Revision & Seminar Support in Core Economics
    Michael Welker, Professor of Economics and Director of Catholic Management & Entrepreneurship, Franciscan University of Steubenville

    The Mini-Grants program forms part of a range of academic scholarships, grants, and awards available from the Acton Institute that support those engaged in serious reflection and research on the relationship between theology, the free market, limited government and the rule of law. Details of these academic grants and scholarships may be found here.



    About the Acton Institute

    The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, ecumenical think tank located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Founded in 1990, the Institute works internationally to “promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.” For more information, visit acton.org.

    Interviews with Acton Institute staff may be arranged by contacting Eric Kohn, Director of Marketing & Communications, at (616) 454-3080 or at [email protected].