ATLANTIC College of Business Faculty Play an Integral Role in News Media

BY PAUL OWERS

Florida Atlantic faculty members play an invaluable role serving as experts to media across the country. The College of Business is an intricate part of this network. At a time when the economy, inflation and real estate are at the forefront of national importance, several of its faculty members have established themselves as top experts in providing their research to inform and educate.

Ken H. Johnson, Ph.D., associate dean; William Luther, Ph.D., associate professor; and Monica Escaleras, Ph.D., chair of the College of Business’ economics department, are some of the faculty regularly interviewed both locally and nationally on television and quoted in such publications as The Wall Street Journal, Fortune and The New York Times

“All of this enhances the public awareness of the university and promotes more informed decision-making,” Johnson said.

Johnson, an economist, co-founded three separate monthly real estate indexes that analyze U.S. home prices and rents to show which markets are the most overvalued. He was featured in more than 4,000 news placements in 2022 for his real estate expertise, including a segment on NBC’s “TODAY,” which explained how high home prices and rents in Florida have made the Sunshine State a less-attractive spot to retire.

Escaleras, director of FAU’s Business & Economics Polling Initiative, consistently secures local and national coverage with political polls and quarterly consumer confidence surveys, while Luther is a sought-after source for his analysis of the latest inflation figures.

“Many college professors — myself included — struggle to convince students that the ideas we discuss in the classroom are of practical importance in the real world,” Luther said. “Writing op-eds and discussing current events with journalists force me to remain relevant, and the corresponding publications demonstrate to my students that these ideas really are important for their lives after FAU.”

Other College of Business professors, including Siri Terjesen, Ph.D., associate dean; Peter Ricci, Ed.D., director of the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program; and Sofia Johan, Ph.D., associate professor in the finance department, also serve as important experts for the news media.

“During an interview, the questions are very similar to those asked in the classroom,” Johnson said. “But when I explain a thorny housing issue to a reporter, for example, I have come to realize that I have just educated one ‘student’ who will now go and explain the issue to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of people. Reporters are the perfect megaphones.”

Some of the College of Business’ faculty members also are featured in the prestigious Stanford University database of the top 2 percent of the world’s most-cited researchers. Terjesen, along with Anil Bilgihan, Ph.D., Rebel A. Cole, Ph.D. and Douglas Cumming, Ph.D., are listed in the database, which is considered one of the best ways to measure faculty research productivity and impact across 22 scientific fields of study.

Bilgihan, an associate professor of marketing, is listed in the sports, leisure and tourism category, while Cole and Cumming, both finance professors, are listed in the finance category. Terjesen, professor of management programs, is listed in business and management.

“I’m delighted that my research is considered insightful and cited by other researchers, as well as policymakers and practitioners,” Terjesen said.

Cumming noted that FAU offers an excellent opportunity for faculty to engage in research and bring novel insights into the classroom.

“The top-cited scholars’ acknowledgement is evidence that our research and teaching efforts are paying off,” he said.

Cumming and Cole both praised Daniel Gropper, Ph.D., dean of the College of Business, for providing the necessary support to enable a productive research environment.

“I am proud to be one of the four College of Business professors on this list, three of which were brought to the university by Dean Gropper, who has worked tirelessly during his tenure to improve the standing of the college,” Cole said.