UTSOA

Dr. Oden's teaching and research areas include local and regional economic development, regional growth dynamics, program evaluation methodologies, and affordable housing policy. Prior to joining Community and Regional Planning (CRP) program he worked at the Project on Regional and Industrial Economics at Rutgers University, the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris, and as the senior economist on the Appropriations Committee of the Michigan State Senate.

In the CRP program, Dr. Oden normally teaches four courses in an academic year: Urban Economic Development Policy (385C), the survey course for economic development planing; Regional Growth Dynamics (385C), a reading or research seminar on aspects of regional and industrial development; Regional Planning Methods (980Y), a core CRP course on data acquisition and economic, demographic and land use models; and Affordable Housing Policy (388), a research seminar on affordable housing policy and development. Oden won the Texas Excellence Teaching award in 1998 and the Outstanding Teacher Award for the School of Architecture in 2001.

Professor Oden's current research interests include the role of advanced telecommunications and information technology in regional development, evaluation methods for economic development and environmental projects, and the role of community development corporations in affordable housing development. His funded research projects typically involve and support Master's and Ph.D. students.

Over the last decade, Dr. Oden has published a number of reports and articles on economic development, program evaluation, and affordable housing. Recent publications he has authored and co-authored include: "Telecommunications and Rural Economies: Findings from the Appalachian Region," in Communications Policy and Information Technology: Promises, Problems, Prospects, Cranor and Greenstein (eds.); "Digital Divide or Digital Opportunity in the Mississippi Delta Region," in Telecommunications Policy, Spring 2001; "Federal Defense Industrial Policy, Firm Strategy, and Regional Conversion Initiatives in Four American Aerospace Regions" in International Regional Science Review, January, 2000, "Distinguishing Development Incentives from Development Give-Aways: A Critical Guide for Development Practitioners and Citizens," in Policy Studies Journal, 1999.