An addition to Ball State University's economics faculty will continue Miller College of Business' research tradition by expanding in the area of health economics.
Kerry McGeary was named to the Phyllis A. Miller Professorship in Health Economics. Starting August, McGeary will lead a team of faculty in developing a research agenda, focusing on several economic issues that are related to the American health care system. McGeary will also develop a curriculum in health care studies for undergraduate and graduate levels.
The research program at Ball State, the Center for Business and Economic Research, has a strong faculty and many students dedicated to the study of economics, which will help on performing studies in health economics, McGeary said in a statement.
Tung Liu, chairperson of the department of economics, said the department has four members in the health economics area.
"With the addition, we hope we can develop further in the area. She will be of much help in the department," Liu said.
McGeary has taught economics at Drexel University in Philadelphia since 2002. Before that, she worked at the University of Miami in 1999. She was honored in 2008 with the Georgesqu-Roegen Prize for Best Paper from the Southern Economic Association.
McGeary has worked in the health economics research area in the last decade, giving her the experience in the development of health care studies at Ball State, Dean of the Miller College of Business Rajib Sanyal said in a statement.
"She has a reputation for being an excellent teacher in the classroom," Sanyal said. "Her experience in online teaching and in the MBA program will be invaluable to us as we enhance our capabilities in those areas."
Michael Hicks, director of the CBER, said he believes the college of business will benefit under McGeary's leadership.
"She's an amazing scholar, and she is going to bring her studies, her knowledge, to the research area and the classroom," he said. "I think students are going to find her wonderful. Not only for her knowledge on health economics, but also because of her dynamic way of teaching."
Hicks said McGeary adds experience on interpretation in health economic studies.
"We have professors who have performed research in the health economics area, they all do a great job," he said. "But she brings policy experience. It is very rare for a university to have someone that can point to policy issues in this area, and for that I think we are very lucky."
Hicks said McGeary recently performed a study on the Medicaid system about how it works and how it has advanced in the U.S. This is one of many studies she has performed in the past few years.
"What she brings is someone that combines the technical research skills with the understanding of what the changes mean. I think it's a rare combination," Hicks said. "We're overjoyed and anxious to learn a great deal on health economics from her. I think she will bring the department to a whole new level."
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