Lehigh Univ.

Matthew Kleinhenz of Laurys Station was named as one of 12 Martindale Student Associates after a highly competitive application process.

This long-running and prestigious program selects Lehigh’s most talented juniors for induction as new Associates to conduct in-depth research on issues pertaining to the economy of a chosen country. (Peru, 2016-17)

The students and their faculty mentors began their studies in February with a series of orientation classes on campus featuring guest speakers, followed by a visit to Washington, D.C., in March or April for briefings at the country’s embassy, and and other relevant organizations such as the U.S. Department of State, the IMF, the World Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank, etc.

During this time, the students began to define their topics of study.

In May, the group traveled to the country of focus for 10-12 intensive days of meetings, briefings, lectures, interviews, and discussions with leaders from government, business and industry, academic and research institutions, media companies, consulting firms, etc.

The students also made a number of site visits, for example to hospitals, manufacturing plants, universities, important cultural heritage locations.

During their senior year, the students will take the class ECO 362, during which they will give presentations on their research and provide peer reviews.

They also observe a series of deadlines for the submission of writing assignments and meetings with their faculty mentors.

The experience culminates at the end of the students’ senior year with the publication of the 12 research papers as a volume of the journal Perspectives on Business and Economics which is distributed internationally.

In recent years Martindale Student Associates have researched, visited and published journals focusing on the economies of Iceland, Greece, Colombia, Slovenia, and Portugal.

This year’s cohort’s work will be published in October 2017.