Economics, Strategy and Marketing Department

The department combines three disciplines: economics, strategy, and marketing. Economics investigates how societies produce, distribute and consume resources. Focus is on understanding how markets work and the role of the government in tempering economic problems – both domestic and international – that may arise. Management is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the effective and utilization of human, material, and financial resources. Marketing includes identifying the needs of customers and industry, developing products and services to meet those needs, and engaging in the necessary communication and distribution strategies to achieve customer satisfaction. The mission of the department is to foster conceptual thinking among our students focus sing on developing quantitative skill sets that will prepare them for successful careers across disciplines in profit non-profit, public administration, and graduate programs.

Departmental Honors

Students who have a GPA of at least 3.25 in their major courses are urged to complete a substantial research project to qualify for honors in management and economics at graduation.

Faculty

Hossein Akhavi-Pour, professor, chair. BA 1969, Faculty of Law, Tehran University; MA 1975, PhD 1980, Kansas State University. Work experience: government, consulting, and academic. Research interests: international economics, regional economics, and the economies of the global south.

Fahima Aziz, professor. BA 1979, Mount Holyoke College; MS 1984, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; PhD 1994, University of Minnesota. Research interests: labor economics, development economics, poverty and income inequality, and microcredit institutions.

David M. Berg, assistant professor. BA 1981, St Olaf College; MIBS 1984, University of South Carolina; PhD 1988, University of Minnesota; CMA. Experience: international finance, import/export/ technology export. Research interests: globalization and competition, firm strategy and adaptation, context of international business.

Stacie A. Bosley, assistant professor. BBA 1994, University of Wisconsin-Madison; PhD 2001, University of Minnesota. Work experience: information systems consulting. Research interests: labor economics and bounded rationality.

James Hagen, associate professor. AB 1974, University of Michigan; MS 1988, University of Minnesota; Ph.D. 1997, University of Illinois; Experience: bank operations, commercial real estate, consulting; Research interests: foreign market entry, inter-organizational relations, East Asia.

Wai Leong (Henry) Ho, assistant professor, MS 2002, Victoria University, PhD 2010, Southern Cross University. Research interests: customer Value creation and delivery, Virtual network Organization, Marketing in Asia, International advertising, and Marketing education.

Alfred Lewis, professor, BS 1983, International University-England; MBA 1984, DBA 1989, United States International University; EJD Concord Law School 2005. Research Interests: Banking, Corporate Strategy, Not-for-Profit institutions, Political Economy. Editor: Business Strategy Series, Emerald Publishing-U.K.

Kim K. McKeage, visiting associate professor. BA 1984 Mississippi University for Women, MS 1988 Oklahoma State University, PhD 1996 University of Massachusetts/Amherst. Research interests: consumer culture, unintended consequences of marketing, ethics and social responsibility, and retail management. Work experience: higher education administration, retail management, internal auditing, research consulting.

Jack Reardon, professor, B.A. College of the Holy Cross 1981; M.A. 1984, PhD 1991 Economics, University of Notre Dame. Research Interests: Economics Education, Energy and the Environment, Poverty and Unemployment. Founding Editor of the International Journal of Pluralism and Economics Education.

Bruce Wambheim, visiting assistant professor. BA 1989 University of Minnesota; PhD (ABD) University of Utah. Research Interest: Monetary Theory, Economic History, International Economics.