Maureen O'Brien is a Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Economics and Head of the Department of Economics at the University of Minnesota Duluth. Maureen has been on the UMD Economics faculty since 1983. She did her undergraduate work in economics at Auburn University. Her M.A. in Economics is from Oklahoma State and her Ph.D. in Economics is from West Virginia University. Her teaching activities have focused primarily on labor economics, statistics, and introductory economics. She teaches courses in the areas of managerial economics, history of economic thought, and the economics of poverty.

Dr. O'Brien's research activities, which have resulted in a number of published articles and research reports, have focused on regional employment issues as well as some studies investigating the process of teaching and learning in higher education.