Five Questions with Brandon Tripp
Brandon Tripp is an assistant teaching professor in the Finance academic area at the KU School of Business. A former Jayhawk himself, Tripp received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics from KU before pursuing his doctorate in economics at Cornell University. After nine years of lecturing in the department of economics at Cornell University, Tripp has returned to the KU School of Business to teach courses in applied and behavioral economics and statistics.
What got you interested in your field, and what is the most rewarding part of being involved in it?
I was originally motivated to study economics by a 10th grade teacher who told me I had a knack for “thinking like an economist.” I don’t know if he realized it, but that small kernel of motivation stuck with me and gave me the confidence to pursue economics as a major in college.
It wasn’t until the senior year of my undergraduate degree that I actually understood what being an economist might look like. I needed data for an econometrics project, and my family had recently started an organic soap business. I learned to scrape and code raw data, convert an intuitive question into a testable hypothesis, and then answer that question in a way that was actually useful for the company (in this case, the family business). That first “applied economics” experience was very rewarding — using a set of skills that you learned in a college classroom to provide a useful service in the real world.
Now that I am teaching economics and statistics in a school of business, these experiences still influence the way I approach teaching my current students: I convince them they can do something difficult and then try to get their hands on some data as soon as possible.
What is your favorite part about being a Jayhawk?
There really is something special about being a Jayhawk, and I think Liverpool Football Club’s motto, “You’ll never walk alone,” comes pretty close to describing that feeling. As a KU graduate myself, I always felt there was a sense of family and connection to both the university and the town of Lawrence. Being away for the past 15 years, I would see a Jayhawk shirt or sticker in upstate New York or anywhere else in the world and know there was a kindred spirit (who could also talk basketball and barbecue). I am very grateful for this opportunity to come back to Lawrence and KU.
What would you see yourself doing if you weren’t a professor?
I think I’m in too deep to turn back now, but it would probably be consulting. I have always enjoyed working on side projects, and I think some of the communication and analytical skills that make an effective teacher are also valuable in an economic consulting role. In both cases, you often need to take a complicated real-world problem, boil it down to the essential moving parts and predictions and explain the implications to a non-expert in that particular field.
What advice would you give your college self?
I would say two things: First, have fun. You may never have more free time than you do now, so do as many different things as you can.
Second, don’t worry too much about how it will all fit together. Have a final objective in mind, and then just focus on the next best step you can take towards that goal. And if you do feel stuck, a good advisor or mentor can help you figure out what the next step should be, so don’t hesitate to reach out early.
If you could require students to read one thing before graduation (outside of your class reading), what would it be and why?
The assignment would be to read anything written by the great Terry Pratchett! There has never been a better time to enter the “Discworld,” find a bit of humor and marvel at the parallels all around us. There are many great books to start with, but I would nudge them toward “Men at Arms,” so that we could discuss the Socioeconomic Theory of Boots as it relates to BE 301.