Management and Economics Department

The department of management and economics combines two disciplines. Economics concentrates on the principles governing the market mechanism and how it guides decision making in the production and distribution of goods and services. Management involves the planning, organizing, leading, and controlling of resources to achieve an organization’s goals in an effective and efficient manner. It is an appropriate area of study for students interested in nonprofit organizations, as well as business firms. Management emphasizes the application of economic principles, along with those from other fields, such as sociology, political science, psychology, and mathematics, to business, government, and other organizations. Although the orientation of the two disciplines differs somewhat, they share a substantial core of common subject matter and analytical methodology.

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. 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 economics of developing countries.

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.

Mary L. Bochnak, professor. BS 1972, MBA 1976, PhD 1982, University of Minnesota. Work experience: business, government and nonprofit organizations, and private consulting. Research interests: nonprofit organizations, financial and accounting models, real estate.

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

Guiyou Qiu, visiting assistant professor. BS 1986, Wuhan University, China. MS 1998, PhD 2009, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Work experiences: software development and artificial intelligence research. Research interests: User-Generated Content/Social Media, Channel Management, Marketing Research and Consumer Behavior.

Elizabeth W. Gunderson, professor, chair. BAS 1976, University of Minnesota; MBA 1981, University of St. Thomas; PhD 1991, The Union Institute. Work experience: nonprofit organizations and private consulting. Research interests: forensic economics, security analysis.

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.

Jennifer W. Keil, associate professor. BBA 1986, University of Michigan; MBA 1992, PhD 1999, University of Kansas. Work experience: securities industry. Research interests: compensation, gender pay differential, work-and-family issues.

J. Dan Lehmann, visiting assistant professor. BS 1974, MS 1975, PhD 1982, University of Illinois. Work experiences: business executive in international firms and consulting. Research interests: investments, corporate finance and management.

Alfred Lewis, visiting 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..

Jack Reardon, professor, B.A. College of the Holy Cross 1981; M.A. 1984, Ph.D. 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.

Robert L. Routhieaux, associate professor. BS 1987, California State University, Chico. MS 1993, PhD 1995, University of Arizona. Work experience: restaurant and retail management, training and development, nonprofit and small business consulting / coaching. Research interests: organizational growth, change and sustainability in small business, health care, and nonprofits.

Karen Somerville, assistant professor. CGA, 1985, Certified General Accountants Assoc. of Ontario; MBA, 1990, University of Ottawa; PhD, 2008, Carleton University. Work experience: high technology sector, the federal government, management consulting, and not-for-profit organizations. Research interests: organizational change, organizational behavior, women in management and human resources.

Chad Sponsler, visiting assistant professor. B. Acct. 2002, MBA 2003, University of North Dakota; JD 2008, Hamline University; CPA. Research interests: Certified Public Accountant exam performance variables, financing higher education, educational tax incentives.

Imen Tebourbi, assistant professor, B.B.A. 2000 IHEC Tunis, MS 2002 HEC Montreal, Ph.D. 2006, University Paris Dauphine. Work experience: Researcher. Research interest: Mergers and Acquisitions, Managerial Compensation, Risk Management, Corporate Governance.

Nancy Webber, visiting instructor. BS 2002 and MBT 2004, University of Minnesota. Work experience: CPA with concentration in business taxation.