After 33 years at the helm of the department's undergraduate program, Prof. Francis McLaughlin has relinquished the duties of the Assistant Chair to Senior Lect. Catherine Schneider. McLaughlin joined the department as an instructor in 1961, four years after receiving the Master's degree from Boston College, and three years prior to his earning the Ph.D. in Economics from MIT. He became an Assistant Professor in 1961 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1968, becoming Assistant Chair of the department in 1971. Frank is known to generations of BC undergraduates as the person who would straighten out their registration problems (back to the days of IBM-card registration!) and always welcomed their stopping in for a chat. He has taught labor economics and history of economic thought electives, and taught in the Perspectives program.

Dr. Catherine Schneider received the Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University in 1980 and joined the department in 1982 as a lecturer, being promoted to Senior Lecturer in 1996. She has served as the advisor to the economics honor society, Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE) for a number of years. Her teaching has included electives in public finance, economics and Catholic social teaching, economics of transportation and the large principles course. An avid horsewoman, Cathy is the academic advisor to the BC Equestrian Team.