Biography
Thomas Smith joined the Goizueta Business School faculty in 2008. He has held faculty positions at the University of Illinois–Chicago, National-Louis University, Loyola University, and North Central College. Smith received a PhD in labor and demography/cultural economics and policy from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1998. He holds a BA from Illinois Wesleyan University. He has presented dozens of papers at academic and professional conferences in the U.S. and abroad. He has served as a consultant for the arts, music and entertainment industry (National Endowment for the Arts, Joffrey Ballet of Chicago) and in curriculum development (University of Illinois-Chicago, Buck Institute for Education).

Publications

• Moving Upstage: Economic Trends in the Nonprofit Theater Industry , National Endowment for the Arts (forthcoming).
• “Problem Based Learning in College Economics,” (with Jason Ravitz) Academic Exchange Quarterly, 12, no. 1 (Spring 2008).
• “Selection Models in the Music Industry: Comment,” Journal of Cultural Economics 31, no. 2 (June 2007).
• “The Impact of Government Grants on Nonprofit Arts Organizations,” Annals of Cooperative and Public Economics 78, no. 1 (March 2007): 136-160
• Occupational Attainment and Mobility of Hispanics in a Changing Economy , with M. Toussaint and L. Comeau, Pew Hispanic Center, December 2005.
• Raising the Barre: Demographic, Economic and Financial Trends in the Nonprofit Dance Field 1986-1999 , Research Division Report #44, National Endowment for the Arts, September 2003.
• “The Impact of NEA Grants on the Contributions to Nonprofit Dance Companies,” Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society 33, no. 2 (2003): 98-113.

Areas of Specialization

• Cultural economics (economics of the arts)
• Economics of sports
• Economics of religion
• Urban and real estate economics
• Labor economics
• Economic education

Achievements and Honors

• Teaching Award: University of Illinois-Chicago & Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, 2007
• Rookie of the Year Award, National Association of Economic Education, 2004
• Co-winner of the Oscar Miller Teaching Award for Best Economics Graduate Student Teacher, University of Illinois-Chicago, 1998
• Finalist: Lucent Technology Prize for “The Demand for Culture: A Human Capital Approach,” paper and presentation, Illinois Economic Association, Chicago, 1997

Professional Memberships and Activities

• Secretary/Treasurer, Association of Cultural Economics International, 2008
• Program Director, Association of Religion, Economics and Culture, 2007
• Trustee for Illinois Economic Association
• Manuscript referee: Journal of Cultural Economics; Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society; Review of Social Economy; Review of Religious Research

Academic Background
PhD, Labor and Demography, Cultural Economics and Policy, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1998
MA, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1994
BA, Illinois Wesleyan University, 1992