Leila Pratt

Leila Pratt never dreamed of being an economist, and she doesn't think many people do.

"Most people don't really have an idea what economics is," she said. "I guess kids in high school these days take economics, but back in the dark age when I went to high school, they didn't."

So in her principles of microeconomics classes at UTC, Dr. Pratt initially tells her students they are about to learn something akin to a foreign language and directs them to the glossary of terms at the back of their textbooks.

As the first and only female economics professor at UTC, Dr. Pratt, 60, is a well respected and well liked presence, according to her colleagues.

Catherine Middleton, an instructor in the department, said Dr. Pratt is very knowledgeable and also extremely approachable, which makes her popular with students. Ms. Middleton, 34, took a class from Dr. Pratt during her undergraduate studies and remembers visiting her often.

"I found her very willing to help students, and I still see students wandering in and out of her office," she said.

Earlier this month, Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to win the Nobel Prize for economics. The achievement by Dr. Ostrom, a political science professor at Indiana University, is positive for the future of women in economics, Dr. Pratt said.

"I think it is great that a female economist has been recognized for the work she has done," she said. "I think it will let college and high school age women and girls know economics is a field they can succeed in, and that is important."

Dr. Pratt joined the faculty at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 1974 after completing her master's and doctorate degrees at Virginia Tech. At the time, 4 percent to 6 percent of economists were women. Today, that number is much higher, between 20 percent and 25 percent, she said.

The job offer came at a perfect time for Dr. Pratt, who grew up in the Mobile, Ala., area. One sister was living in Knoxville and the other was attending college at the University of the South.

Dr. Pratt started college at Auburn University as a math major, but found she was drawn to economics because of the unique perspective it gave to social and political issues. She took a class in econometrics -- math, statistics and economic theory -- in her senior year and she was intrigued.

"For the first time, it gave me a way to look at social and political problems in the context of statistics and math, and I thought it was really fascinating," she said.

She confessed there are some hazards of being an economist these days, the inevitable questions about the economy will get better.

"You can't go to a cocktail party without getting that question," she said.