Economics

Kelli Mayes-Denker has taught economics for more than 15 years at the University of Arizona and the University of Missouri. She has taught more than 5,000 students in person and online. Her primary interests are economic history and economic business strategy. She helps students understand how to assess business models by connecting real-world events and economic analysis. She empowers students to discover how businesses create strategies to gain competitive advantage, use economic tools to solve problems and become valuable contributors to successful businesses and society.

Mayes-Denker also has significant experience in the private sector mainly within tech startups. Her growth mindset has helped two startups gain key market positions and ultimately be acquired. These real-life, practical experiences enable her to provide better learning opportunities for her students.

Her goal is to help students notice and leverage economics in everyday work and life settings to be as informed as possible.

Bob Hazel currently teaches two popular online courses: Law and Economics and Financial Economics. Dr. Hazel has also taught Honors Principles of Microeconomics, Managerial Economics and Economics in the Digital Era. Before earning a doctorate in economics in 2019, he worked as an attorney, an airline executive and a partner in a large international management consulting firm. His teaching goal is to help students acquire tools they can use in the real world. He has published articles on the economics of airlines, airports, drones and online cheating, which was inspired by a lively discussion in his Law and Economics course.

George Chikhladze holds a doctorate in economics, with specialization in industrial organization, from the University of Missouri. He teaches both undergraduate and graduate-level courses in macroeconomics, money and banking, and game theory. He has experience working in the energy industry as a regulatory economist. Areas of interest include industrial organization, competition analysis, regulation and antitrust, pricing and asset valuation. Recognitions include the Nouss Award for Teaching Excellence, the Walter Johnson Award for Teaching Excellence and the Purple Chalk Award. Dr. Chikhladze is from the country of Georgia.

Vitor Trindade earned a Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego, and was an assistant professor of economics at Syracuse University from 2000-2005. While at Syracuse, Dr. Trindade received the Outstanding Teaching Award twice from the international relations master’s program.

He first joined the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2005 as an associate professor of economics. Dr. Trindade was the 2010 recipient of the prestigious Maxine Christopher Shutz Award. He retired in 2018 but was rehired in 2019 as a visiting associate professor of economics.

His research interests include international trade and economic development. His teaching interests are international trade and international economics, econometrics, microeconomics and the master’s research workshop.

Tabitha Chikhladze joined the teaching faculty at the University of Missouri in 2023. Dr. Chikhladze teaches undergraduate courses in Principles of Microeconomics, Honors Principles of Microeconomics, Managerial Economics, and Public Economics. Chikhladze's research focuses on racial disparities in traffic stops and the factors of corruption. She also assists in producing the annual Vehicle Stops Report for the Missouri Attorney General. When she's not teaching, she volunteers her time by serving on the Columbia Police Chief’s Vehicle Stops Committee as a data analyst.

Kelli Mayes-Denker has taught economics for more than 15 years at the University of Arizona and the University of Missouri. She has taught more than 5,000 students in person and online. Her primary interests are economic history and economic business strategy. She helps students understand how to assess business models by connecting real-world events and economic analysis. She empowers students to discover how businesses create strategies to gain competitive advantage, use economic tools to solve problems and become valuable contributors to successful businesses and society.

Mayes-Denker also has significant experience in the private sector mainly within tech startups. Her growth mindset has helped two startups gain key market positions and ultimately be acquired. These real-life, practical experiences enable her to provide better learning opportunities for her students.

Her goal is to help students notice and leverage economics in everyday work and life settings to be as informed as possible.