Director, Scott Niederjohn, Ph.D.
Scott Niederjohn is Professor of Economics and Director of the Free Enterprise Center at Concordia University Wisconsin in Mequon, WI. Scott is a widely known scholar in the areas of economic education and public policy analysis. He has published more than one hundred journal articles, book chapters, monographs, reports and curricular materials. Scott is also the co-author of three books: Economic Episodes in American History, Second Edition (Wohl Publishing), Economic Episodes in Civics and American Government (Wohl Publishing), and Teachers Can Be Financially Fit: Economists' Advice for Educators (Springer).
Scott received the Wisconsin Governor’s Financial Literacy Award in 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2018. During the fall of 2013, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach at the University of Luxembourg. He serves on the board of the Association of Private Enterprise Education (APEE) and is a fellow of the Badger Institute and the Independent Institute.
Scott earned undergraduate and master’s degrees from Marquette University and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. He is married to Stephanie and they have four children. They reside in Wauwatosa, WI.
Read more about Scott on his website: www.ScottNiederjohn.com.
Affiliated scholars
Affiliated Scholars advise the Center on research and education projects and participate in the Center’s programs and events.
Dr. Dan Sem is an entrepreneur, investor, educator and scientist with over 25 years of experience with healthcare/biotech innovation and startups in both industry and academics. This includes extensive experience in business and intellectual property strategy as it relates to innovation, healthcare policy, biotech financing and operations. He also leads angel investor and accelerator programs in Wisconsin and Michigan as President of CU Ventures and Walsh Ventures, providing a venture studio, economic development support, and angel investment. Dan has co-founded several biotechnology companies (one acquired by Novartis) and three nonprofits focused on assisting tech entrepreneurs. He has over 75 peer-reviewed research papers and 10 issued patents and has a PhD in Biochemistry from University of Wisconsin Madison as well as Law and MBA degrees from Marquette University.
Via CU Ventures, Dan now co-leads an angel group that has invested $1.5 M in pre-seed funds in 7 Wisconsin startups in the last few years. Additionally, he serves as CEO of Bridge to Cures, Inc., a nonprofit that cohosts the annual Healthcare Innovation Pitch (HIP) program, with a consortium of tech-transfer offices participating in the CTSI (Clinical and Translational Science Institute) AMPDNR (Accelerating Medical Product Development through Networked Resources) program. Besides facilitating and leading university-affiliated angel investing, Dan is passionate about exposing college students and alumni to the startup and entrepreneurship process, hosting bootcamps and pitch competitions for students, and supporting their entrepreneurial ventures.
Learn more about Dan on his website: DrDanielSem.com.
Dr. Steve Montreal has co-authored articles related to the political knowledge and activism of Lutheran pastors, exploring the connection between faith and the public square. He teaches both statistics classes and political science classes. He is Concordia University Wisconsin’s coordinator of the Menard Center for the Study of Institutions and Innovation grant, focusing on civil liberties and civil discourse. His current research interests include the impact of social media and big tech on political discourse.
Dr. Mark C. Schug is Professor Emeritus at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee and President of Mark Schug Consulting Services. Mark taught for 36 years at the middle school, high school, and university levels. A widely recognized scholar, he has written and edited over 230 articles, books, and national curriculum materials. He has spoken to local, state, and national groups throughout the United States and in 11 other countries. He has been the guest co-editor of 14 issues of Social Education, the flagship journal of the National Council for the Social Studies. His latest books are Economic Episodes in American History published by Wohl Publishing and co-authored by William C. Wood, Tawni Hunt Ferrarini and M. Scott Niederjohn, now in its second edition. The same author team of Ferrarini, Niederjohn, Schug, and Wood wrote Teachers Can Be Financially Fit: Economists’ Advice for Educators which was published in 2020 by Springer Nature. Mark is co-author of Economic Episodes in Civics and American Government (Wohl Publishing).
Mark does consulting for several local, state, and national organizations and has served on the boards of local, state, and national non-profit organizations including the (national) Association of Private Enterprise Education, Economics Wisconsin, Business and Economics Academy of Milwaukee (BEAM), St. Andrew Church and Academy, School Choice Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Council for the Social Studies. Mark earned a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He has received seven national awards for leadership, writing (three), service, and research (two) in economic education.
Mark and his wife Io have been married for 56 years, have two grown daughters, and four grandchildren. They live in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
Read more about Mark on his website: MarkSchug.com.
Dr. Tawni Ferrarini is the interim associate director of the Stavros Center for Economic Education at Florida State University. Her recent accolades include receiving the 2024 Presidential Scholar-Teacher Award from Lindenwood University and serving as an interim State Board of Education member as an independent appointee of Governor R. Parsons. Dr. Ferrarini is a coauthor of three books, most notably "Common Sense Economics" (2024), and has contributed to the Council on Economic Education curriculum materials and programs. Her expertise lies in utilizing technology in the classroom and integrating economics with American history. She played a key role in establishing the Council on Economic Education—Japan and advises the Economic Fundamentals Initiatives on bringing sound economics into over eleven Eastern European countries. Dr. Ferrarini's work is featured in publications covering economic education, technology, and general education. In 2015, she held the position of president for the National Association of Economic Educators and was honored as the inaugural recipient of the Abbejean Kehler Award from the same association. She holds a doctorate in economics from Washington University, studying economic history under the guidance of the 1993 Nobel Laureate, Douglass C. North.
Dr. William Wood is an Emeritus Professor of Economics and former Director of the Center for Economic Education at James Madison University. Wood was the recipient of teaching awards at the University of Virginia and at James Madison University, where he was the 2001–2002 Distinguished Teacher in the College of Business. Wood was named in 2002 as an inaugural winner of the Southern Economic Association’s Kenneth G. Elzinga Distinguished Teaching Award. Wood is also a past recipient of the Alpha Kappa Psi-Clifford D. Spangler award for research in risk and insurance and Best Paper award for the Journal of Private Enterprise. He is the author of four books, more than 60 scholarly articles, and national economic education materials for school and adult audiences.
Dr. Tyler Watts is an Associate Professor of Economics at Ferris State University and an affiliate professor at Concordia University in Wisconsin. Watts joined the faculty of Ferris State University in 2018, having previously taught at both large public universities and small private colleges. Watts’ research interests include monetary history, entrepreneurship, and institutional analysis. He has published academic research papers, policy analysis, and commentary articles in a variety of scholarly and popular publications, including Eastern Economic Journal, The American Economist, and The Federalist.
Professor Kim Holder is the Managing Director of the Center for Economic Education at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. She’s an alumna of UWG and Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and the immediate Past-President of the National Association of Economic Educators.
Her work in economics education has been nationally recognized by the National Economics Teaching Association’s Best in Class Award, the National Association of Economics Educators’ Rising Star Award, and the Best of the West Employee of the Year Award for the University of West Georgia. Kim also gives back to her community through service on the boards of the Journal of Economics Teaching, the Association of Private Enterprise Education, the Journal of Private Enterprise, and the UWG Athletic Foundation Board of Trustees.