Turning easily in his chair, Dr. Andrew I. Kohen, professor of economics, indicates his computer. He says he recently received an e-mail from a former student saying she attributed her career choices and success to a personal letter Kohen had written to her as an undergraduate urging her to major in economics. Kohen waves his hand toward his many stacked shelves, where neatly arranged books completely cover one wall of his office in Zane Showker Hall. “One common thread (in the books on this shelf) is that student success is connected with developing relationships with faculty outside the classroom,” Kohen says. “Personal connections and relationships matter.”

Kohen credits his unique undergraduate experience with inspiring him to develop meaningful relationships with his students. Kohen designed his own major under an experimental program at Monteith College of Wayne State University, receiving a Bachelor of Philosophy degree with a focus in economics in 1963. The small liberal arts program, sponsored by the Ford Foundation, consisted of an integrated core program in which every discussion class capped at 12 students, Kohen explains. Kohen says he became interested in economics after he took a Principles of Economics course early in his undergraduate career. While taking the class, Kohen got a private note from his professor inviting him to pursue economics because Kohen had an aptitude for the subject and the professor was impressed with his work.

“What drew me to economics was a composite of being interested in human behavior and the quantitative nature of economics,” Kohen says. Kohen continued his education, receiving his master’s degree in economics from Yale University and a doctoral degree in economics from Ohio State University. But it was his undergraduate experience that prompted him to teach. “I benefited enormously from my undergraduate experience,” Kohen says. “I think it’s only fair to pay some of that back to students.” 

Kohen says he thinks undergraduates are the most rewarding students to teach because of their broad range of interest and their innocence. “I find undergraduate students much more interesting than graduate students because graduate students are narrowly focused,” Kohen says. Kohen says he feels undergraduate work should not be viewed as a preparation for a vocation. Rather, it should be “education to become an educated human being.” Kohen told his freshman advisees during the 15 years that he was an advisor that “choosing a major is no big deal,” and encouraged them to develop wide areas of interest.

Kohen himself has had a wide and varied range of involvement over his 26-year career at JMU. He has been a member of the Honors Program Committee for over five years, having helped lay the foundation 16 years ago for the program as it exists today. “I was on the ground floor of the design as it is now,” Kohen says.

Profile by Jeanine Gajewski and Brock Kappers

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