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Kimberly E. Christensen, Ph.D. Kim Christensen.jpg

Associate Professor of Economics
School of Natural and Social Sciences

Office: 1017 SS Building
Tel: (914) 251-6622
Fax: (914) 251-6603
Email: kim.christensen@purchase.edu

Dr. Kimberly Christensen is an associate professor of economics at Purchase College, and is active in the two interdisciplinary gender studies programs (women's studies and lesbian/gay studies). She also serves as the chair of the Faculty Pedagogy Group. Her research interests include American women's economic history, and the intersections of race, class, gender, and sexual orientation in American life.

Education

  • Ph.D., 1986, Economics, University of Massachusetts/Amherst. Received "Distinguished" on History of Economics Thought Comprehensive Exam
  • Fall 1976-Spring 1977, Graduate Study in Economics, Ohio State University, Columbus.
  • B.A., 1976, Economics and Peace Studies, Earlham College. Departmental Honors, All-College Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, and Cline Stinneford Award for Excellence in Economics Scholarship

Positions

  • Fall 1991-present: Associate Professor of Economics/Women's Studies, SUNY/Purchase College
  • Fall 1985-Spring 1991: Assistant Professor of Economics/Women's Studies, SUNY/Purchase College
  • Spring 1985-1990: Instructor, Center for Economics Education, SUNY/Westchester High School Partnership
  • Fall 1979-Spring 1985: Lecturer, Economics Department and Women's Studies Program, University of Massachusetts/Amherst
  • Spring 1980-present: Staff Instructor/Center Associate, Center for Popular Economics, Amherst. (Teach economics to community organizations)

Areas of Expertise

Women's Studies: Race/Class/Gender, Political Economy of Women, U.S. Women's Economic History, History of U.S. Feminist Movement and Feminist Theory, Disability Politics, Politics of Sexuality, Political Economy of AIDS
Economics: Political Economy, Welfare System, Labor Market Discrimination, History of Economic Thought, Macroeconomics

Professional Awards

Spring 2005, Spring 1995, and Spring 1990: Purchase Student Government/Students’ Union Awards for Outstanding Service to the Purchase College Community.

Spring 2003 and Spring 1998: United University Professionals’ Professional Development Awards

Fall 1997: SUNY/Purchase College President’s Award for Innovative Pedagogy

Spring 1992: New York State SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Teaching

Spring 1991: Purchase Student Government/Students’ Union Teaching Award to Letters and Sciences Faculty

Spring 1989: Junior Faculty Development Grant

Teaching Fields

Women’s Studies: Race/Class/Gender, Political Economy of Women, US Women’s Economic History, History of US Feminist Movements, Feminist Theory, Disability Politics, Politics of Sexuality (LGBT), Political Economy of AIDS

Economics: Race/Class/Gender, Political Economy, Welfare System, Labor Market Discrimination, History of Economic Thought, Macroeconomics

Selected Publications and Current Research

“Campaign Finance and Electoral Reform: A Feminist Economics Approach.”  Forthcoming (Spring 2006), Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal.

“Vessels, Vectors, and Vulnerability: Women in the US HIV/AIDS Epidemic.” Solicited  chapter for Karen Baird (ed.), Beyond Reproduction: Women’s Health, Activism, and Public Policy. Probable publisher: Georgetown University Press.

The Patriarch, The Capitalist, and The Witch: The Economic Context for the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, In process of revision for solicited resubmission to Yale University Press.

“‘All in the Family’: Gender, Community, and Labor in Folbre’s The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values.” Review of Radical Political Economics, Vol. 35(4), Fall 2003. p. 548-552.

"'Thank God . . . I thought for a moment you were going to confess to converting to socialism!': Gender and Identity in Deirdre McCloskey's Crossing: A Memoir." Review essay. Feminist Economics, Forthcoming.

"Empty Bellies, Empty Promises: Welfare 'Reform' in the '90s." June 2000. In Ron Baiman, Heather Boushey and Dawn Saunders (eds.)., Political Economy and Contemporary Capitalism: Radical Perspectives on Economic Theory and Policy, Armonk NY: M.E. Sharpe.

"Economics Without Money, Sex Without Gender: A Critique of Philipson and Posner's Neoclassical Approach to the AIDS Epidemic." 1998. Feminist Economics Vol. 4(2), Summer. p.1-24.

The Patriarch, The Capitalist, and The Witch: Reflections on the Salem Witchcraft Trials of 1692, In process.

"'With Whom Do You Believe Your Lot is Cast?': White Feminists and Racism." 1997. Signs: A Journal of Women in Culture and Society, Vol. 22(3). Spring. p. 617-648.

"As If That Wasn't Bad Enough: A Reply to Christopher Jencks' 'The Hidden Paradox of Welfare Reform'," "Published" on Web Site of The American Prospect, July 1997.

With Eva Kittay and Ruth Brandwein, Edited "'Welfare is a Women's Issue!': Welfare Teach-in Packet," Women's Committee of One Hundred, January 1996, Revised August 1996.

"Political Determinants of Income Changes for African American Women and Men," Review of Radical Political Economics, 24(1), Spring 1992. p. 52-70.

"Teaching AIDS to Undergraduates: An Action-Oriented Approach," Harvard Educational Review, August 1991. p. 337-356.

Anthologized 1993. In Geismar and Nicoleau (ed.) Teaching for Change: Addressing Issues of Difference in the College Classroom, Boston: Harvard Educational Review. p. 169-189.

"How Women Live: The Impact of Economic and Political Position Upon AIDS Care," and "Women with AIDS in Prison: An Introduction to the Issues."1990. In ACT UP/NY Women and AIDS Book Group (ed.). Women, AIDS & Activism, Boston: South End Press. p. 5-15 and 139-142.

Selected Professional and Community Service

Fall 2005 – present: Coordinator, Gender Studies (Women Studies and LGBT Studies) Programs, SUNY/Purchase College

Summer 2003 – present: CLAGS (Committee for Lesbian/Gay Studies), CUNY Graduate Center, Board of Directors, Fellowships Committee, Committee on Disability Access

Fall 2004 - Spring 2005: Educational Policy Committee, SUNY/Purchase College

Fall 2002 - Spring 2004: Campus-wide Budget Committee, SUNY/Purchase College, (Co-Chair, Fall 2003-Spring 2004)

Fall 1997- Fall 2001: Founder and Chair, SUNY/Purchase College Faculty Consortium on Pedagogy; (Organized Campus-wide Retreat on Pedagogy, May 1999)

Summer 1997- Summer 1999: Founder/Chair, NY Area Chapter of IAFFE (International Association for Feminist Economics)

Winter 2005 – present: Vice-President and Recording Secretary, Ehlers-Danlos National Foundation, NYC Branch

Summer 1996-Summer 1998: Founder/Chair, NY Branch of Ehlers-Danlos Foundation

Spring 1997 – Spring 2003: Ehlers-Danlos National  Foundation Advisory Committee, 501(c)(3) Committee, Endowment Management Committee

Spring 1998-Summer 2000: Co-Chair (with Karin Rhines of Department of Health), Westchester County College Health Consortium, (Organized county-wide College Health Summit, Fall 1999)

Fall 1987 - Fall 2002: Founder/Faculty Chair, SUNY/Purchase College AIDS Task Force

Academic years 2001-2002, 1997-1998, 1993-1994, 1990-1991, 1987-1988: Rotating Chair, Economics Board of Study, SUNY/Purchase College

Summer 1997 - Fall 2001: Advisory Board, Urban Justice Center, Workfare Organizing Project
 
Summer 1995 - Summer 2000: Executive Committee, Women’s Committee of One Hundred (Media Campaign for Fairness on Welfare)
 
Spring 1988 - Winter 1995: ACT UP/NY Health Care Access Committee, Tax Committee, (Obtained/maintained 501(c)4), Women’s Caucus/Majority Actions Committee

Fall 1986 - Spring 1987: Rotating Chair, SUNY/Purchase Women’s Studies Program

Fall 1993 - present: Women’s Studies Research Seminar, SUNY/Purchase College

Fall 1994 - Fall 1995: Faculty Committee on Racial Diversity and Multi-Culturalism

Fall 1992 - Fall 1995: EOP (Educational Opportunities Program) Advisory Committee

Spring 1991 - Spring 1992: Chair, Mid-Atlantic States’ Accreditation Review, Committee on Community Relations and Community Service

Spring 1985 - Spring 1991: Director of Curriculum Development, Center for Economics Education, SUNY/Westchester High School Partnership

Spring 1984 - Spring 1986: Steering Committee Member (Women’s Caucus Representative), URPE (Union for Radical Political Economics)

Spring 1980 - present: Center Associate, Center for Popular Economics, Amherst