Diane Gibson AM 1996, PhD 1999

When Diane Gibson set out to study obesity in this country, she didn’t expect it would lead to an invitation to sit on an expert panel assembled by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). But Gibson’s unexpected finding that participation in the food stamp program was linked to obesity led the USDA to try to determine whether this critical government social program had unintended consequences. “Ultimately,” says Gibson, “the panel is helping to influence the research priorities of the USDA.”

Gibson, Assistant Professor at Baruch College, City University of New York, has been teaching economics in the School of Public Affairs since graduating from the Harris School in 1999, where she received her PhD with a focus on urban poverty and inequality and econometrics. Gibson entered the Harris School with a goal of teaching at the university level, and she is excited to be a part of the Baruch faculty.

“Like many students in public affairs and public policy, many of our students come to these classes with a limited background in economics and a good deal of apprehension about the subject. I feel that one of my main jobs is to provide students with a supportive, yet rigorous, environment in which to tackle these fears.”

Gibson cites her course work in economics, research methods, and policy analysis at the Harris School as the foundation for her current research projects, projects that grew out of her interest in poverty and the efficacy of policies designed to solve poverty-related problems.

Her research falls into three main areas: the relation between social program participation and health, with a principal focus on health outcomes related to weight; factors that influence an individual’s weight, such as grocery store availability and family environment; and the relation between a neighborhood’s socioeconomic status and the availability of amenities and economic development incentives in the neighborhood.

She considers the Harris School one of her principal sources of inspiration in her role as teacher and researcher. “My Harris School training factors into my work every day. I learned a lot about how to teach well by watching the professors at the Harris School. Also, the opportunity to work as a research assistant and a teaching assistant helped me develop my skills in research and teaching.”

“I feel like I’m making a difference in my teaching because I’m helping students learn how to think analytically. Whether they remember the specifics of economics in the future, this type of thinking will help them make strong arguments and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments of others.”