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The research process involves solving ill-structured problems and employing critical thinking and communication skills. Working under the guidance of a faculty mentor, students engage in inquiry in their chosen field of study and complete an original thesis. Select students present their research in public forums such as ���ϲ�����’s Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF), Eastern Economic Association annual conference and the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. Twelve percent of Love School of Business majors in the Class of 2023 completed undergraduate research while at ���ϲ�����.

2022 Theses

The following students presented their undergraduate research projects at ���ϲ�����’s Spring Undergraduate Research Forum:

• “The Success of Soap-Making: How Entrepreneurial Training in Ugandan Refugees Impacts Their Outcomes in Village Savings and Loan Associations”
  Aniyah S. Adams ’22 (mentor: Dr. Steve Deloach)
• “Productivity in the National Basketball Association: The Effects of Rest Time and Age in the Regular Season on Postseason Productivity”
  William Davies ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Douglas Redington)
• “Measuring the Effect a Woman’s Age at First Birth has on Income”
  Madison Duchesneau ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Casey DiRienzo)

• “Size, Specialization, and Venture Capital Returns”
  Matthias L. Ferring ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Adam Aiken)
• “The Predictive Ability of Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Skills at Kindergarten Entry on Fifth Grade Achievement”
  Bridget Foehl ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Katy Rouse)
• “The Gender Difference in Test Scores and Teacher Grades in ECLS-K:2011: The Role of Noncognitive Skills”
  Kara L. Friske ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Katy Rouse)
• “Women’s Family Planning Access and its Impact on Income Generating Activity in Southwest Kenya: An Individual Level Analysis”
  Cole Haecker ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Casey Dirienzo)
• “The Effects of Farmland Preservation on Residential Property Value in Hunterdon County, New Jersey”
  Kyle F. Hensler ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Brooks Depro & Dr. Ryan Kirk)
• “The Impact of Integrity Versus Competence-Based Corporate Social Responsibility Violations and Repair Strategies on the Perceived Authenticity of the NBA”
  Kylee N. Herbert ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Chris Nelson)
• “The Impacts of Mental Illness on Employment Status”
  Jack Heretz ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Mark Kurt)
• “The Effect of Secondary School Teacher Expectations on Student Enrollment in PostSecondary Education – A Gender-Specific Analysis”
  Isabella K. Hindley ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Katy Rouse)

• “Accumulating Consequences of Sexual Violence: Age of First Experience on Human Capital”
  Morgan J. Kearns ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Casey DiRienzo)
• “An Analysis on the Relationship Between Alcohol Consumption and Labor Market Outcomes”
  Kimheng Larch ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Mark Kurt)
• “ESG Practices and Company Debt Structure in the Chemical Industry”
  Moritz Lederer ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Scott Hayward)
• “The Effect of the Gender Pay Gap on Economic Growth”
  Olivia Leggett ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Brandon Sheridan)
• “Investigating Environmental Outcome Convergence in North Carolina”
  Jack O. Libby ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Brooks Depro)
• “Impact of Abortion Clinic Closures on Evictions”
  Maria J. Mendoza ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Steven Bednar)
• “The Use of Paycheck Protection Program Loans for Small Businesses in Central North Carolina”
  Dana L. Miller ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Susan Anderson)
• “An Analysis of the Relationship Between Right-to-work Laws and Reduced-Price Lunch Participation”
  Benjamin T. O’Connor ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Mark Kurt)
• “An Analysis on the Relationship between Public Library Innovation and Social Capital”
  Liam O’Connor ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Steve DeLoach)
• “Measuring the Economic Value of Walkability”
  Charles N. Purrington ’22 (mentor: Dr. Tonmoy Islam, Department of Economics)
• “An Analysis on the Relationship between Legalized Gambling and Crime Rates”
  Campbell W. Shepard ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Douglas Redington)
• “The Relationship Between the 2008 Recession and Birth Rates in the United States” Malia J. Takei ‘22 (mentor: Dr. Steve DeLoach)

Issues in Political Economy Undergraduate Research Journal

The Department of Economics supports the undergraduate research journal Issues in Political Economy, which is co-edited by students at ���ϲ����� and the University of Mary Washington. ���ϲ����� students serve as referees and associate editors. Each year the journal sponsored undergraduate sessions during the Eastern Economic Association annual conference.

Case Competitions

Case study is a staple of engaged management education. In addition to exposing students to real-world scenarios, it engages them in undergraduate research: gathering information, analyzing that information, developing a recommendation, and communicating that recommendation persuasively. Unique to case studies, however, is the purpose to which the research, analysis and communication are put: to solve a complex business problem or to provide advice to a firm as it looks into new opportunities.

Case studies have also become the basis for case competitions hosted by business schools and firms throughout the world. Love School of Business students participate in a variety of case competitions: business ethics, strategy or market opportunity analysis, as well as competitions within specific disciplines such as accounting, economics or finance.

Students prepare for case competitions by taking specialized courses, independent studies or through membership in student organizations.

Over the years, Love School of Business case competition teams have participated in such competitions as:

• Collegiate Ethics Case Competition
• Scotia Bank Ethics in Action Case Competition
• McDonough-Hilltop Business Strategy Challenge
• John Molson Undergraduate Case Competition
• International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition
• Templeton Business Ethics Case Competition

• X-Culture Competition
• CFA Institute Research Challenge
• Beta Alpha Psi’s Project Run Withit
• Institute of Management Accountants Student Case Competition
• College Fed Challenge
• Great Northwoods Sales Warm-Up
• National Collegiate Sales Competition
• BSU Regional Sales Competition
• Russ Berrie Institute National Sales Challenge
• World Collegiate Sales Open
• International Collegiate Sales Competition
• Selling with the Bulls
• Diamond Dollars Case Competition
• “2 Minutes to Win It” Business Idea Contest
• MIT Global Startup Workshop’s Elevator Pitch Competition
• Society for Human Resource Management Student Case Competition
• Charlotte Venture Challenge
• Startup Weekend
• American Marketing Association Triangle Marketing Jam
• Champion Analytics Case Competition
• Business Analytics Competition
• McGill Management International Case Competition
• BTG National Diversity Case Challenge
• National Diversity Case Competition
• The Econ Games
• AT&T National Sales Challenge
• ChewyCase Competition for Students of Color
• National Shore Sales Challenge
• Venture Capital Investment Competition
• IPBS Business Sustainability Challenge