University of Michigan-Flint

In professor Mark Perry’s classroom (and in the majority of classes at University of Michigan-Flint), you won’t find) canned lectures. It’s going beyond the textbook to connect theory and practice for a real world experience, right now.

“Students learn in my classes in several ways, both in class and out of class. In class, I always try to start with a discussion of current events that relate to our course material.  For example, we might discuss an article from the Wall Street Journal or New York Times. Or, we’ll hit on topics such as the stock market, bond market, foreign currency market that day, or Federal Reserve policy, or economic reports on unemployment rates nationally or in Michigan, or the most recent release on Gross Domestic Product, or other economic reports that help us ‘take the nation’s economic pulse.’ These help students connect the finance and economics concepts we study in class to the real business world, and the current economic and financial events unfolding during a given semester. 

“The textbooks give us the theory of how the economy and financial markets operate, and the current events of the economy and financial markets provide a dynamic, ever-changing laboratory, like a ‘capitalist rainforest’ for us to observe, study and learn.

“Beyond the classroom, I took a group of undergraduate business students on an international trip to Russia in 2002, and then took a group of graduate MBA students to Russia in 2003 for a truly unique and firsthand international perspective. Additionally, over the last ten years, I have supervised 15 different students on research projects outside of class including master’s theses, senior honors projects, and independent studies. 

“One noteworthy project was an independent research study with an undergraduate student on the economic impact of the CRIM Festival of Races – the results of this study were publicized with a press conference on campus, and it was featured on the front page of the Flint Journal, as well as on all of the local television stations.

“These are just a few examples of the many ways in which students at University of Michigan-Flint can expect a connection between the textbook and the real world as we unlock the mysteries of the global economy in the Information Age with insights from economic and financial theory.”