2022 Beaufort Regional Economic Forecast

Gibbs Knotts is currently Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences. He joined the Department of Political Science as Department Chair in 2012 and served in this role from 2012-2019. Knotts teaches undergraduate courses in American politics and graduate courses in the public administration program. He has published works on political participation, southern politics, public administration, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. His most recent book, First in the South: Why South Carolina’s Presidential Primary Matters (University of South Carolina Press, 2020), was co-authored with Dr. Jordan Ragusa. Knotts received the College of Charleston’s Distinguished Research Award in 2017.

Prior to arriving at the College of Charleston Knotts worked at Western Carolina University where he served in a variety of administrative roles including MPA Director, Graduate School and Research Associate Dean, Political Science and Public Affairs Department Head, and College of Arts and Sciences Interim Dean. While at WCU, he also received the 2004 Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the 2010 Board of Governor’s Teaching Award, and the 2010 University Scholar Award.

Laura Ullrich is a regional economist at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Previously, Ullrich was associate dean for undergraduate programs and a professor of economics at Winthrop University. She earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Georgia and a master’s and doctorate in economics from the University of Tennessee. Prior to graduate school, she worked as a business consultant for Ernst & Young, specializing in executive compensation determination. In 2014, she served as a Fulbright Scholar teaching economics in Kosovo and has spent considerable time working on local economic development issues in Bolivia.

Ullrich’s research interests include higher education, school finance reform, local and state level tax and expenditure analyses, welfare policy, and the economic impact of local development. She is an active member of her community, currently serving on the Executive Committee of the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance. She also serves on the board of Family Promise of York County, the Rock Hill Technology Incubator, the Carolina Immigrant Alliance and the Winthrop Eagle.

Dr. Erica Von Nessen currently serves as a Research Economist for the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW). Dr. Von Nessen has served with the agency for over 10 years with previous experience as Special Assistant to the Executive Director, Strategic and Research Planner, and Unemployment Insurance Director. She has devoted much of her tenure at DEW to the implementation and monitoring of a revised UI tax system designed to repay all federal loans and restore the state’s trust fund to an adequate level. Dr. Von Nessen received her B.S. in economics from the College of Charleston and her Ph.D. in economics from the University of South Carolina.