BA (McMaster); MA (Waterloo)
Retired: 2019
Areas of specialization: Macroeconomics; Monetary policy
Biography
I was born and raised in Welland, Ontario and completed my BA in Economics at McMaster University. At the end of my third year, I met and married David Vaughan. David was one year away from completing his PhD. After his graduation, we set out for a couple of stops in western Canada where the jobs were in the mid-1970s. Several years later, along came Jennifer, and I was now a stay-at-home mom.
In time, we returned to Ontario. I now had an opportunity to attend graduate school and I enrolled in the Master’s program at the University of Waterloo. I graduated in 1992, and essentially, I didn’t leave. I worked at a variety of things for the Economics Department and soon, had sections of my own to teach.
This fall term (2013) marks my 17th year of teaching. It has become my job to teach the large first and second year macroeconomics courses. When I was an undergraduate, I was actually a Political Science major. I switched to Economics because I had a great first year professor. I always remember that and I try to be that great professor for my students.
Teaching macroeconomics is great fun and a challenge at the same time. The basic material, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), inflation, unemployment, is recognizable to almost every student. The challenge is in trying to understand the complex real world and its ever-changing nature. My goal is that students come away from the course with a better understanding of the economy and its institutions.