Dean announces leadership appointments in Kelce College of Business

Dr. Russ Hardin, dean of the Kelce College of Business at Pittsburg State University, announced today the appointment of Dr. Bienvenido S. Cortes as chairman of the Department of Economics, Finance and Banking and Rebecca Casey as interim chairman of the Department of Accounting. The appointments take effect in June.

Cortes is a University Professor of economics in the Department of Economics, Finance and Banking. He will replace Dr. Chuck Fischer, who has led the department since 1980. Fischer is leaving the department chairmanship to return to the classroom full time.

Cortes received a Bachelor of Science in business economics from the University of the Philippines, a Master of Arts in economics from Wichita State University, and Ph.D. in economics from Oklahoma State University.

Cortes joined the PSU Economics Department in 1986. In 2001-2, he was a Fulbright scholar at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, where he taught regional economics, macroeconomics, and U.S. economic policies. He was also a visiting professor at Japan’s Hiroshima University of Economics in 1993-94. He has participated in overseas faculty seminars focusing on economic growth and international business practices in the European Union, Hong Kong, and southern China.

In 2005, Cortes conducted and co-wrote an economic impact study for a proposed destination casino in southeast Kansas. He teaches international economics, introductory economics, and the economics capstone course as well as MBA courses. He is also co-director of the Business and International Education grant project of the Kelce College of Business.

Cortes is active in university and community service and represents PSU as a member of the Strategic Academic Resource and Policy Team Committee for Kansas, Inc. He is a member and former president of the Sunflower Kiwanis of Pittsburg. His wife, Paige, is an instructor in the Intensive English Program at PSU. They have two children, Ben, 12 years old, and Annie, 8.

Rebecca Casey has been a member of the Accounting Department faculty since 2002. She received both a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Business Administration from PSU. At Pittsburg State, Casey teaches accounting classes and supervises the Kelce Academic Advising Center. She is also the adviser for Students in Free Enterprise.

Before coming to PSU, Casey, a Certified Public Accountant, held accounting and finance positions with First Federal Savings and Loan of Pittsburg; Pitsco, Inc.; Ozark Salad Company; and NPC International.

---Pitt State---