Richard L. Wobbekind (MEcon’79, PhD’84)
Faces of Leeds Snapshot
Name: Richard L. Wobbekind
Alumni Award: Wobbekind is the 2025 recipient of the William H. Baughn Award for Faculty.
Brief Bio: Richard L. Wobbekind is associate dean for business and government relations, associate professor of business economics and finance, and faculty director of the Business Research Division (BRD) at Leeds.
What has kept you energized and engaged in your work with Leeds for nearly four decades?
There are really two things: the mission of higher education and the people with whom I’ve worked. All my work—both in and out of the school—is consistent with helping make the world a better place through education. I could not possibly have done this without the support of the great people in the school and in the community.
How do you hope your economic research through the Business Research Division and your teaching have shaped future business leaders?
I hope my teaching has helped our future business leaders see the world through a bigger lens. Business economics is certainly not the only way to view society, but it brings a valuable and critical perspective. The use of economics to build critical thinking skills is the ultimate goal. I view our economic research work in the community in a similar fashion. We are elevating the level of understanding of critical issues to help decision making, often in a difficult environment, where tradeoffs must be made.
What’s a lesson you’ve learned from your partnerships with business leaders in Colorado that has influenced your work?
The answer to this question is complex, as I have learned many things from the broader business and government community. If I had to boil it down, I would say that regardless of geographic location or political affiliation, we all care about the same thing—creating an economy and society that is better for our state.
To build a better economy and society, you have to build relationships and trust so that the differences don’t get in the way of the common good.