Associate Professor of Economics and Finance
Arlene Joyce Furfero (aka Dr. 440*) was born in a little log cabin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, long before William Penn coined the phrase "City of Brotherly Love." In another life, she was a belly dancer. Now, she settles for the sedate life of economics, finance, and the law. Needless to say, she is very boring.
Dr. 440 received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Pace College, her Master of Arts degree from Pace University, her Doctor of Philosophy degree from Rutgers University, and her Doctor of Jurisprudence from Pace University School of Law. Needless to say, she loves those fraternity parties.
Dr. 440 has written many articles and a few books, all of which will eventually be published at her Web site. However, don't hold your breath. Dr. 440 is a very big procrastinator.
Dr. 440 is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and Finance in the Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John's University, Jamaica, New York. She has been with St. John's since 1980. She was previously on the faculty of St. Peter's College, Jersey City, New Jersey, and has held adjunct positions at Pace University, Douglass College, University College of Rutgers University, and Seton Hall University. Needless to say, she has been teaching for a very long time.
Dr. 440 designed and installed her first website on AOL in August 1997 and introduced her students to web-based tools as part of their education. For Christmas 1997, Dr. 440's son bought her a domain name and, in January 1998, she moved her website to its present home at www.drfurfero.com. Since January 2000, when St. John's began its Online Learning program, Dr. 440 has taught courses online from her home office.
Dr. 440 is also an attorney at law, admitted to practice in the New York and Second Circuit courts. She specializes in civil litigation. Her area of expertise is researching obscure points of law that no one has ever heard of, no one cares about, and no one will ever use. Needless to say, she is a walking fountain of useless information.
Dr. 440 drives a little red sports car. When Dr. 440 was in graduate school, the chair of the Economics Department drove a little red sports car. Therefore, Dr. 440 reasoned that, if she drives a little red sports car, she will become the chair of the Economics Department. Post hoc ergo propter hoc!
Dr. 440 has one daughter, Lauren, age 39, one son, David, age 38, and three grandsons, Nicky, age 19, Michael, age 7, and Matthew, age 5. Needless to say, one of Dr. 440's favorite pastimes is babysitting.
Dr. 440 has three other favorite pastimes: playing bridge, going to Bikram yoga, and playing tennis. Any student, who beats her at the bridge table or on the tennis court, automatically gets an A in her course. Needless to say, she never concedes.
Dr. 440 also has two house cats, a grey Tuxedo named Kamira (a derivative of “Come here-a”), a baby black tuxedo (yet to be named), and a couple of strays. Needless to say, the biggest item in her grocery budget is cat food.
View the fully illustrated autobiography of Dr. 440, here.
*"440" is the phonetic pronunciation for "Furfero"
Websites:
www.drfurfero.com (installed January 1998, updated continually)
Books:
Macroeconomic Stabilization Policies: Goals, Institutions, and Theories, 12th ed. (2010).