I am an Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Tampa (UT). I joined the faculty at UT in August 2013 after teaching at Colby College as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics from 2011 to 2013. I received my PhD in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in August 2011. My primary research area is health economics and I have also published in my secondary research area of media economics.

Currently, I am teaching a new undergraduate-level course: Health Economics. I also regularly teach Foundational Economics for Managers (master's level) and Principles of Macroeconomics (undergraduate level). In the past, I have taught courses in Public Economics, Game Theory, Econometrics, Statistics, Economic Development, Principles of Micro and Macroeconomics, all as an instructor with sole responsibility. I have developed my own course packets for each economics course that I have taught. These course packets replace the need for a textbook while creating a unique, organized and engaging classroom environment. I also regularly organize classroom debates on various economics topics featuring two debate teams.

Contact Information

E-mail: cagirdas@ut.edu

Office Phone: (813) 257-3104

Honors and Awards

The Graduate Professor of the Year Award, The University of Tampa, 2015-2016; voted by graduate students as the outstanding professor for excellence in graduate-level teaching

The Robert E. Demarest Memorial Teaching Award, University of Illinois, 2006-2007, 2007-2008, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011; awarded to the outstanding teaching assistant for excellence in teaching undergraduate-level economics

List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent, University of Illinois, 2004-2011; received for each teaching semester for a total of 17 semesters; awarded an outstanding distinction for 12 out of 17 semesters (top 10% of all teaching assistants campus-wide)

Graduate Teaching Certificate, University of Illinois, 2005

Graduate College Fellowship, University of Illinois, 2006-2007 and 2007-2008

Summer Research Award, University of Illinois, Summer 2007

Second Highest GPA in Ph.D. Core Program in Economics, University of Illinois, 2006

Habib A. Zuberi Scholarship, Central Michigan University, 2002/2003

63rd place in University Admissions Examination, Turkey, 1997; ranked 63rd out of approximately 1.5 million students who took the standardized Turkish national examination for university admissions