CUW’s Scott Niederjohn, PhD, received a grant from Acton University to advance scholarship and education in free market economics.
The Concordia Free Enterprise Center Director is one of six recipients nationwide to receive funding for research and course development. Niederjohn’s proposal involved a course on “History of Economic Thought”. CUW implemented this course into the curriculum in the 2022-2023 academic year.
The course will trace the evolution of economic thinking. This includes the great thinkers in the history of economic thought and political economy. The goal is to relate their ideas to contemporary issues. Major groups covered include Classical Economics, Laissez-faire, Utilitarianism, Socialism, Austrian Economics, Keynesianism, Behavioral Economics, Public Choice Theory, and more.
The Acton Institute
The Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty is a nonprofit, ecumenical think tank. They were founded in 1990 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The Institute works internationally to “promote a free and virtuous society characterized by individual liberty and sustained by religious principles.”
The Acton Institute Mini-Grants program accepts proposals from faculty members at colleges, seminaries, and universities in the United States and Canada. They seek to promote the scholarship and teaching of market economics. This program allows for collaboration between faculty from different universities. They work to help future leaders to emerge, strengthening and expanding the existing network of scholars within economics. Entrants may submit proposals in two broad categories: course development and faculty scholarship.
Want in?
The Concordia Free Enterprise Center (CFEC) opened in the fall of 2021 under the leadership of Scott Niederjohn. Scott is a nationally recognized economist and scholar who now serves as a professor of economics at CUW. The Center aims to support the ideals of a free and virtuous society through four areas: research, education, application, and public policy.