Marianne Wanamaker

Marianne Wanamaker serves as Dean and Professor at the University of Tennessee's Howard H. Baker Jr. School of Public Policy and Public Affairs. She holds concurrent appointments as a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, Fellow at the Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), and Fellow at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa. Previously, she held leadership roles as Chief Domestic Economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisors and served on the Federal Workforce Policy Advisory Board.

Her educational credentials include a PhD in Economics from Northwestern University (2009) and a summa cum laude undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University (2001), where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. A native of Martin, Tennessee, she has remained at the University of Tennessee since completing her doctorate.

Dr. Wanamaker's research program spans labor economics, workforce development, education policy, American economic history, and demography. She investigates historical and contemporary economic disparities, with particular focus on African American economic mobility since Reconstruction, the impacts of segregation on educational and labor market outcomes, and health policy legacies including the Tuskegee syphilis study. Her methodological approach combines historical data analysis with modern econometric techniques to examine long-term structural inequalities.

Her publication record reveals consistent thematic focus across three decades of research, with recent work examining restrictive abortion legislation effects, Black landownership after emancipation, and pandemic-era educational disruptions. These studies demonstrate interdisciplinary integration of economic history, demography, and public policy analysis to address persistent racial and gender disparities.

Scientific recognition includes:

• Poets and Quants Top 40 Undergraduate Professors (2017)
• UT’s Alexander Prize for Excellence in Teaching (2019)

Her research has received sustained funding from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, with findings widely disseminated through major media outlets including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post. She maintains active advisory roles with Zoo Knoxville, labor market analytics firm ThinkWhy, community development financial institution 3 Roots Capital, and the Economic Innovation Group policy think tank.

Professional engagement extends to board service at multiple organizations where she applies economic expertise to community development and policy challenges, reflecting her commitment to translating academic research into practical public impact.