{"id":3649,"date":"2012-08-10T13:27:11","date_gmt":"2012-08-10T13:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/?page_id=3649"},"modified":"2021-10-11T20:08:05","modified_gmt":"2021-10-11T20:08:05","slug":"hofrenni","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/faculty\/hofrenni\/","title":{"rendered":"Hofrenning, Stella K"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Stella Koutroumanes Hofrenning has taught at Augsburg\u00a0University since the fall of 2001 and currently serves as Chair of the Economics Department. She brings a wealth of experience to her students and classroom having worked for several years as an economist for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on welfare reform and poverty issues in Washington D.C. She has also worked as a health economist for the Minnesota Department of Health.<\/p>\n

Hofrenning’s\u00a0research interests include applied microeconomics, public policy, and the economics of education. In addition to her academic research, she\u00a0has written opinion pieces for the Minneapolis Star Tribune<\/em> and St. Paul Pioneer Press<\/em> and speaks to community groups on various economic topics. Hofrenning is a first-generation college graduate being the first in her family to attend high school and college. She enjoys working with students on undergraduate research and is active in the Council of Undergraduate Research, a national association promoting undergraduate research.<\/p>\n

Hofrenning received the\u00a02017 \u201cDistinguished Contributor to Service\u201d award, based on her ten years of faculty leadership in Augsburg\u2019s annual participation in the Mayo Innovations Scholar Program (MISP).\u00a0 Hofrenning shared the award with Biology Professor David Crowe and URGO Director Dixie Shafer.\u00a0 MISP is a partnership between the Mayo Clinic, Augsburg University and nine other private colleges. Through MISP, a select group of Augsburg students participate in a six-month long research program that provides unique and challenging opportunities for multidisciplinary teams of undergraduates majoring in economics, business or STEM fields. The students, with faculty support, evaluate a Mayo product or innovation in biomedical technology for potential transfer to market culminating in a presentation at the Mayo Clinic.<\/p>\n

As a child of Greek immigrants, Hofrenning\u00a0is fluent in Modern Greek and lived in Athens, Greece for several years. She is a volunteer teacher of Modern Greek language to children at St. George Greek Orthodox Church. She also teaches a study abroad economics class in Greece for Augsburg students.<\/p>\n

Education<\/h2>\n