University of Michigan School of Information professor Yan Chen has received a 2024 CEW+ Sarah Goddard Power award.

The award recognizes scholarship that contributes to the improvement of the status of women in academia. Chen’s nomination letter cites her “transformative impact on the betterment of women in economics through her distinguished leadership, scholarship and service activities.” 

“Professor Chen has been changing the odds of success for young minority students and faculty for many years and she will continue to be a transformative force for good at the University and in the economics profession for many to come,” says UMSI interim dean Elizabeth Yakel.  

The CEW+ Sarah Goddard Power award was created to honor Sarah Goddard Power, who served as a Regent of the University of Michigan for more than 12 years. She was known “as a major contributor to the advancement of higher education, an advocate for affirmative action and human rights and a champion of freedom for the international press.” 

Yan Chen earned her PhD in Social Science (Economics) at California Institute of Technology in 1995. Since joining UMSI, she has been honored with numerous awards, including the 2019 Carolyn Shaw Bell award and a 2020 University of Michigan faculty award. She has been influential in the field of behavioral and experimental economics, publishing research on the effects of virtual teams on the productivity and retention of gig workers. 

“I am humbled to receive the Sarah Goddard Power Award,” Chen says. “When I was an assistant professor, I was mentored by strong role models, such as Betsy Hoffman and Catherine Eckel. Generations of female economists have been working to push for gender equity in the economics profession. I am just one of them. As a result of these efforts, things are improving, now 20% of senior faculty members (associate and full professors) in PhD granting economics departments are women. We still have a long way to go, but I am optimistic.” 

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Read more about professor Yan Chen, her research and her awards by visiting her UMSI faculty profile.