CSBS Retirees

Gail Blattenberger
Economics

Gail Blattenberger was appointed associate professor emeritus on July 1. Blattenberger received her BA degrees from Smith College in mathematics and in government, and MA and PhD degrees in economics from the University of Michigan. Prior to joining the economics department, Gail was a Senior Economist for Econometric Research, Inc. Gail was an assistant professor at Utah from 1981 to 1989 and an associate professor beginning in 1989. Gail's research relates to Bayesian statistics and econometrics. She is widely published in top journals including the Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics, Metroeconomica, the Journal of Transportation Research, Applied Economics, and the American Statistician. Her most recent publications relate to studies of motor vehicle fatality rates, parolee recidivism, and avalanche forecasting. While formally on disability status due to multiple sclerosis prior to her recent official retirement, Gail has remained engaged in the life of the department, continuing to collaborate with other faculty members and attending seminars and lectures. Gail is actively involved in the community with a keen interest in peace and environmental protection. For several years, she has applied her economic and statistical expertise to the analysis of water use and water pricing. During the past year, with a group of colleagues, she has provided expert advice to the legislature on the proposed Lake Powell – St. George pipeline. The work of this group has had a tremendous influence on the legislature's actions regarding this proposal (effectively delaying it indefinitely due to concerns raised by Gail and her group regarding costs and likely tax revenues).

Alan Fogel
Psychology

Psychology professor Alan Fogel received the Superior Teaching (2006) and Superior Research (1995) from the College of Social and Behavioral Science, and also the University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award (2001) and the University of Utah Distinguished Scholarly and Creative Award (2008). He has also been a John R. Park Teaching Fellow (1995). In the department of psychology he worked to establish the Summer Research Opportunity Program for underrepresented students, served as chair of multiple committees, was director of graduate training, and served as associate chair. Fogel is also the author of 125 scientific publications including journal articles and book chapters, and he has written three major theoretical/research books. He wrote a best-selling textbook on infant development, which is currently being revised for the 6th edition. He is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, and was a Fulbright Research Fellow.

Ken Jameson
Economics

Ken Jameson retired from the university effective June 30, 2013 and began his official appointment as professor emeritus on July 1. Professor Jameson received his bachelor's degree in history from Stanford University and MS and PhD degrees in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined the Department of Economics in 1989. He served as department chair twice, from 1989 to 1992 and as interim chair from July 2007 to January 2008. He also served as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs (1992-1995) and as President of the Academic Senate (1998-1999) and in numerous other service positions. He is a widely published scholar studying institutional economics, Latin American macro-economic policy and development, and more recently immigration to the US. He was especially active in leadership/service, research, and mentorship even as he has moved to a "phased retirement" status, serving as Director of Graduate Studies in 2011-2012, leading an externally funded research project on immigration to Utah which involved scholars in sociology, economics, and political science, and publishing numerous pieces based on this project and related research. In short, Ken has been a model of scholarly leadership and service, right through the latter days of his time in the Economics Department. Ken Jameson currently volunteers as a Spanish interpreter in The Hope Clinic, a free clinic for uninsured. He is also collaborating with Holy Cross Ministries and the Utah Health Policy Project in acting as a navigator for enrollment in Health Insurance Exchanges under the soon-to-be-implemented Affordable Care Act.

Dan Jones
Political Science

Dan Jones earned his bachelor's degree at Idaho State. Following service in the military, he earned his master's in 1962 and doctorate in 1968 at the University of Utah. Following his graduate studies, Jones taught at Utah State University for 12 years where he rose to the rank of full professor. He directed the Bureau of Government and Opinion Research, and conducted polls on elections and social issues. In 1980, Dr. Jones left Utah State University for Salt Lake City to focus on polling full time. In 2003, Jones accepted the position of interim associate director of the Hinckley Institute of Politics, a position he held until July 2005. Dr. Jones was also known as Utah's preeminent pollster while he was president of Dan Jones & Associates. 

James O'Connell
Anthropology
James O'Connell joined the Utah faculty in anthropology in 1978. Prior to his appointment, he had completed a PhD at the University of California (Berkeley) and held a five-year Research Fellowship at the Australian National University (Canberra). His principal research interests are in the ecology of prehistoric and modern hunter-gatherers. He has extensive field experience in the archaeology of western North America, and has lived for a total of more than three years with traditional foraging groups in remote parts of East Africa and central Australia. He is best known professionally for his work on the early human colonization of Australia and (with University of Utah colleague Kristen Hawkes) on the application of theoretical models from behavioral ecology to problems in human evolution. While on the faculty at Utah, he has served on more than 70 graduate supervisory committees, 30 of which he has chaired. His current and former graduate students hold academic, private consulting and government administrative positions throughout the western US, as well as in Canada and Australia. He is a member of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and member of the US National Academy of Sciences. He was promoted to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Anthropology in 2007, the fifth member of the Department so honored. He assumed emeritus status in 2013, maintains an office in Anthropology, and continues to pursue research in that setting.