Faculty Promotions 2026

Frank Georges has been promoted to Teaching Professor. Professor Georges is a critical part of the Department’s undergraduate and graduate teaching curriculum bringing particular energy to the incorporation of AI in the classroom and a sustained commitment to student engagement and pedagogical innovation. He has taken on arduous but crucial service roles, such as serving on the Masters Admissions Committee. His research spans applied microeconomics, labor economics, and industrial organization, examining consequential real-world questions ranging from the labor market challenges facing formerly incarcerated workers reentering the workforce to the competitive effects of bundling practices in manufacturing.

Alicia Modestino has been promoted to Full Professor. Professor Modestino’s research spans labor and health economics, with a focus on youth development, skills and labor market dynamics, childcare, and the opioid crisis. She has published in leading journals including the American Economic Review, has secured substantial external funding, and directs the Kitty and Michael Dukakis Center for Urban and Regional Policy. She recently launched Community to Community (C2C): Policy Equity for All, an initiative that partners with city agencies and community organizations to address urgent public problems. She is a J-PAL Affiliated Researcher, a Nonresident Fellow at the Brookings Institution, and a Research Fellow at IZA, and has been a dedicated mentor to students and early-career economists throughout her career.

Madhavi Venkatesan has been promoted to Teaching Professor. Professor Venkatesan’s scholarship and applied work examine the intersection of economic systems, sustainability, and institutional design, with particular emphasis on policy implementation and public adoption. She has a strong publication record and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Sustainability and Climate Change. Her leadership extends beyond academia through the founding of a sustainability nonprofit that has successfully advanced municipal policy adoption across multiple jurisdictions. Her work has received national recognition, including being named USA Today’s Massachusetts Woman of the Year in 2024, and she remains committed to mentoring students and advancing undergraduate research.