Jeff Brown graduated from Miami in 1990 with a BA in Economics and Political Science. He is the current Dean of the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois. He is also a previous member of the Economics Advisory Board.

• Has COVID affected your every day work life? If so, how? I have been working from home for nearly a year. And this is the first time in decades that I have not spent any time traveling the world and country for work.
• What are some ways this new way of life has benefited the way you look at your daily work operations? I have learned that it is possible to have meaningful engagement with people all over the world through Zoom!
• Has doing more virtual meetings, etc, shown to be more beneficial to how you can be productive in your daily activities? In many ways, yes.  I spend less time in airports, on the road, and walking between meetings, so I am able to get a lot more done.  It has also allowed me to pay more attention to eating quality foods and exercising, so I am living a healthier life, which also contributes to productivity.
• Once COVID has slowed down do you think this will affect your future way of continuing to do your work? Absolutely.  Many of the events we have hosted in person in the past will likely now have virtual options. Our online degree programs have grown rapidly. More of our employees will work from home.
• Has having an Eco degree benefited you during this time? I use my economics training every day of my life to thinking about resource allocation, including how I spend my time.  It is also a very powerful and insightful lens through which to understand what is going on in the world, whether it is about debates over fiscal stimulus to why companies make the decisions they do.