Karen Gebhardt Dr. Karen Gebhardt is a faculty member in the Department of Economics and is the Director of the Online Economics Program at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2023, she received a national award by the University Professional and Continuing Eucation Association recognizing her excellence in online teaching and course development. Dr. Gebhardt has a passion for teaching economics. She regularly instructs courses in all modalities (online, on campus, hybrid, remote) from introductory courses in macro- and microeconomics, to upper-division courses in microeconomics, international trade, and managerial economics and graduate courses in environmental economics and public finance.

She is an early adopter of teaching with technology and advocates strongly for it because she sees the difference it makes in student engagement and learning. Dr. Gebhardt was the recipient of the Water Pik Excellence in Education Award in 2006 and was awarded the Best Teacher Award in 2015 while she was at Colorado State University. She most recently won a national award for excellence in online teaching and course development from the University Professional and Continuing Education Association.

Dr. Gebhardt research interests, publications, and presentations involve economics and online education and the economics of human-wildlife interaction. Before returning to academia, she worked as an economist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service/Wildlife Services/National Wildlife Research Center, conducting research related to the interactions of humans and wildlife. Her current research focuses on using data to improve student learning outcomes in economics education with an emphasis on improving grades and completion rates in online courses.

In her free time. Dr. Gebhardt enjoys learning about new teaching methods that integrate technology and going rock climbing and camping in the Colorado Rockies and beyond.


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