Chris Erickson has spent 40 years at NMSU as an economics professor, researcher and mentor. Erickson, a professor in the Department of Economics, Applied Statistics and International Business in the College of Business, is also the founding director of the Center for Border Economic Development, or C-BED.
Throughout his career, Erickson has taught a variety of courses ranging from money and banking and macroeconomics to Latin American and international economic development. He founded C-BED to support economic development in New Mexico’s border communities while giving students opportunities to apply classroom knowledge to real-world challenges.
“Students learn economics differently when they apply it to real problems for real communities,” Erickson said.
Through C-BED and its partnership with Arrowhead Center, students work alongside faculty on projects with real-world consequences.
Erickson has participated in more than 250 media interviews with local, national and international outlets on economic conditions, financial markets, trade, tariffs and the border economy. He has been quoted by the Albuquerque Journal, NPR, The Wall Street Journal and Newsweek.
“In these interviews, my role is not simply to offer a prediction. It is to explain the economic forces at work, what we know and where genuine uncertainty remains. That is also what I try to teach students to do,” he said.
For Erickson, student and faculty success are closely connected. “The most rewarding parts of my career have been helping students and junior colleagues develop the skills to succeed.”