Second-year economics and statistics major Sawyer Burgess participated in Mizzou’s Student Research Exposure Program (SREP) this summer under the supervision of Dr. Cory Koedel. We are excited to announce that he is one of 10 students to receive an extension of funding to continue his research during the 2025-26 academic year. 

Over the summer, Sawyer worked with Dr. Koedel on a project studying the financial and labor-market impacts of the California teacher pension plan. During the extension period Sawyer will continue that work, plus start a new project on the source(s) of recent increases in classroom disruptions reported by teachers in K-12 schools.

When asked to describe his SREP summer experience, Sawyer replied that the program “introduced me to new research approaches, challenged me to problem-solve, and allowed me to make progress on work with real-world impact.” During the upcoming year, he is looking forward to “finalizing and diving deeper into the project [from the summer] and also beginning research on a new topic.” 

Sawyer plans to present findings from his research during Show Me Research Week in the spring.