The Martha and Spencer Love School of Business welcomes Xuefeng Shao as a visiting professor of economics from Jilin University, Changchun City, China. Shao arrived at Elon University on March 1 and will spend the upcoming year conducting economic research and teaching a class during the fall semester.
“Dr. Shao is a scholar of the first order, specializing in the intersection of cultural change and the implementation of taxes, particularly in China,” said Jim Barbour, chair of Elon’s Department of Economics.
Shao has come to Elon to work on his latest book and expand his study beyond China to the United States to explore the public financial differences between the two countries.
“Elon is fortunate to have attracted him, and the economics department is doubly fortunate to serve as his host,” Barbour said. “In addition to being a timely scholar and a fascinating human window on Chinese culture, Xuefeng is an engaging and interesting colleague.”
In the fall, undergraduate business students will have the opportunity to take Shao’s class, which will examine the effect of tax policies on the culture of China. Shao looks forward to teaching in a small class setting, which will allow him to have time to work with each student. He is accustomed to teaching larger classes at Jilin University and noted his largest class consisted of 400 students.
This is Shao’s first trip to the U.S. and so far he has found his visit to be an exciting, interesting and fresh one. The friendliness and helpfulness of Elon’s faculty and staff has helped make his first two months here a positive experience.
In addition to working on his research, Shao plans to spend his summer preparing for his fall class and traveling to learn more about American culture.