Meet the Professor: Camilo Alvarez Camilo Alvarez joined Washington and Lee University as the Ted DeLaney Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics in fall 2021.

By Taylor Meeker
August 23, 2021

“It [W&L] has such a strong sense of community, from the faculty to the staff to the students, everyone is incredibly friendly and welcoming.”

~ Camilo Alvarez

Camilo Alvarez joins Washington and Lee University this fall as the Ted DeLaney Postdoctoral Fellow in Economics.

Alvarez completed his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota and B.A. from the University of Miami. His research is centered around international macroeconomic and monetary economics with a specific focus on sovereign debt. His newest project examines how those intersect with political economy factors.

Prior to joining W&L, Alvarez worked at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and the Minnesota Population Center.

Alvarez is teaching Economy of Latin America this fall. Keep reading to learn more!

1. What first attracted you to Washington and Lee University?

The first thing would be the community at W&L. It has such a strong sense of community, from the faculty to the staff to the students, everyone is incredibly friendly and welcoming. The students are bright and engaged, and the faculty was nice and helpful. I felt that it was the perfect place for me to do research while engaging in high-level teaching.

2. Aside from teaching, what’s something that you’re passionate about? What do you do for fun?

I love college football and soccer, much to the detriment of my happiness because my teams tend to do poorly pretty often. As for what I do for fun, cooking way too elaborate meals, and hiking are my go-to activities.

3. What is your favorite movie or book? Why?

I am terrible at choosing favorites. 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably my favorite movie. It was one of the first movies that made me appreciate movie scores, and it’s also an incredibly visually striking film. Plus, I am all the way in for A.I. being bad.

4. As a student, what was the best piece of advice you were given?

Something worth doing well is also worth doing poorly.

5. Share a fun fact about yourself.

I’ve lived in 3 different countries (and 7 different cities!)

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