Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I have always been enthusiastic about advancing my education to higher levels. I completed my MSc at MAICh (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania) in Greece. During this period, I travelled to a few European countries and was a visiting scholar at Nijenrode University in the Netherlands. This period was filled with intellectual endeavours and cultural learning experiences. Afterwards, I moved to Canada and completed my PhD at the University of Saskatchewan, where I enjoyed the academic expedition, friendships, and the living skies. As a francophone, I recognized that my educational journey was incomplete without academic experience in Quebec. I got the opportunity to serve as a post-doctoral research fellow in the Centre for Research on the Economics of Agri-food (CREA) at Université Laval in Quebec City.
How long have you been at ULethbridge and what do you do here?
I returned to the Prairies in July 2008 and joined the Department of Economics at the University of Lethbridge as an Assistant Professor. It has been 16 years since I moved to Alberta. These years have been filled with gratifying professional experience, collegiality, friendships and breathtaking vistas of the wild rose country.
One of the pre-eminent features of being a university professor is the intellectual freedom and the broad range of creative activities. I appreciate constant intellectual stimulation and collaborative work with colleagues at ULethbridge and other universities. I enjoy doing research — I try to find interesting and timely research questions and develop innovative theoretical and empirical approaches to solve economic problems. The main focus of my research is agricultural and resource economics and food economics. My research also covers various topics in international economics and development economics.
What's the best part of your job?
I find teaching extremely rewarding as I observe how my teaching, supervising and mentoring activities promote students’ academic and professional development and enhance their critical thinking. I enjoy guiding students to develop economic intuition and analytical skills and generate the ability to apply economic principles and concepts in their professional and daily lives. I am continuously fascinated by the motivated and ambitious students at the University of Lethbridge and I am enchanted by their unique perspectives and approaches. I find my current position as Chair of the Department of Economics enriching as I endeavour to fulfill my responsibilities in efficiently administering and managing the department’s resources, ensuring high-quality learning experiences for our students and devising academic strategies and programs.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Outside of work, my preferred activity is spending quality time with my family. I enjoy watching documentaries and listening to lectures on various economic, political and philosophical topics. I also enjoy hiking and travelling with my family and friends and discovering international cuisines and good restaurants.