Education
Ph.D., Economics, University of Connecticut, 2000
M.A., Economics, University of Connecticut, 1997
B.A., Economics, Framingham State University, 1994
About Brian
Brian T. Kench, Dean of the Pompea College of Business at the University of New Haven, is an expert in behavioral and experimental economics and the economics of organization. He is a consultant in the areas of unemployment, economic damages and economic impact analysis, and he is frequently asked for his commentary.
As a higher education leader, Kench has spent the past 25 years helping universities excel by focusing on talent acquisition, cost efficiencies, and development needs of students, faculty and organizations. Working closely with faculty and staff he has led increases in enrollment, rankings, retention, diversity and inclusion, student placement and satisfaction, faculty recruiting, alumni engagement, corporate partnering, fundraising, new curriculum design, and the development and launch of online degree programs.
As Dean of the University of New Haven’s AACSB‐accredited Pompea College of Business, he led the effort to fundamentally change the reputation of the business college by repositioning it to become a leader of programs at the intersection of business and technology. The college was among the first five business colleges in the United States to offer STEM designated business programs. Today, 65% of all students and 75% of all graduate students are enrolled in one of our STEM programs.
Experience
University of New Haven, AACSB International and NEASC accredited, West Haven, CT 06516
2015-date, Dean and Professor of Economics, Pompea College of Business (tenured)
The University of Tampa, AACSB International and SACS accredited, Tampa, FL 33606
2014-2015, Professor of Economics (tenured)
2008-2013, Associate Professor of Economics (tenured)
2002-2007, Assistant Professor of Economics
The University of New Hampshire, 2000-2002, Visiting Assistant Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, AACSB International accredited, Durham, NH 03824-3593
Bentley University, Spring 2000, Adjunct Faculty of Economics, Department of Economics, AACSB International accredited, Waltham, MA 02452
The University of Connecticut, 1997-2000, Instructor of Economics, Department of Economics, Storrs, CT 06269-1063
- "Using Peer Effects to Explain Retention Rates in a Private University" (with J. Stinespring and K. Borja), Higher Education Quarterly, 2020, 74(3): 334-346.
- "Basic Economics of the Export-Import Bank" (with Robert Beekman), Mercatus on Policy, 2015.
- "The Moral Hazard of Mandatory Membership in Private Clubs" (with L. Hoke and C. Skipton), Research in Business and Economics Journal, 2013, vol. 8. (Acceptance rate: 20%, Source: Cabell Publishing.)
- "Dynamic Transaction Costs and Firm Boundaries in the Soft Drink Industry" (with H.S. Wallace and T. Knox), Journal of Economics and Economics Education Research, 2012, 13(1): 33-51. (Acceptance rate: 21-30%, Source: Cabell Publishing.)
- "Of Altruists & Thieves" (with N. Niman), Eastern Economic Journal, 2010, 36(3): 317-343. (Acceptance rate: 25-35%, Source: Cabell Publishing.)
- "The Influence of Psychological Type and Interpersonal Needs in Social Dilemmas: A Public Goods Experiment with Punishment" (with R. Beekman, N. Niman, and G. Wynn), Journal of Psychological Type, 2010, 70 (January): pp. 1-17.
- "From Crunch to Crisis in the Interbank Lending Market" (with J. Stinespring), Journal of Financial Transformation, (2009), 27, pp. 63-68. (Acceptance rate: 6-10%, Source: Cabell Publishing.)
- "Innovation, Capabilities, and Organizational Economics: Lessons from the Business Strategy Literature," (with Trevor Knox & H. Scott Wallace), Journal of Business Disciplines, (2006), VII (1): 45-58. (Acceptance rate: 11-20%, Source: Cabell Publishing.)
- "Let's Get Physical! Or Financial? A Study of Electricity Transmission Rights," Journal of Regulatory Economics, (2004), 25(2): 187-213. (Acceptance rate: 21-30%, Source: Cabell Publishing.)
- AACSB International
- American Economic Association
- Academy of Business Economics
- Southern Economic Association
- Economic Science Association
- Omicron Delta Epsilon
- Delta Sigma Pi
- Beta Gamma Sigma
- Awarded the 2012 Teaching Excellence Award by the John H. Sykes Pompea College of Business at The University of Tampa for Excellence in Teaching.
- Awarded the 2011 Distinguished Paper Award by Academy of Business Economics. Paper title: "The Economics of Vertical Integration Revisited."
- Awarded sabbatical for the fall of 2009. Project title: Economics for the Global Economy.
- Awarded the 2009 Teaching Excellence Award by the John H. Sykes Pompea College of Business at The University of Tampa for Excellence in Teaching.
- Awarded the 2008 Researcher of the Year Award by the John H. Sykes Pompea College of Business at The University of Tampa for Excellence in Scholarship.
- Awarded the David Delo Research Professor Grant (2003, and 2005-2008).
- Awarded the University of Tampa Dana Faculty Development Grant (2003-2009, 2011-2012).
- Awarded the 2006 Distinguished Paper Award by Academy of Business Economics. Paper title: "Strong Altruism: An Element in the Emergence of Public Institutions." Updated paper title: "Strong Altruism & Moral Sentiments: Toward a Greater Understanding of Group Behavior."
- Awarded John H. Sykes Pompea College of Business Mini Sabbatical (spring 2007 and fall 2005).
- Awarded research support from the National Grid Company (2002).
- Awarded the University of Connecticut's Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship (2000).
- Awarded the University of Connecticut's Research Foundation Grant (2000).
- Awarded the University of Connecticut's Institute for Teaching & Learning Large Grant (January, 1999, with Dennis Heffley).
- Honorable mention recipient of W. Harrison Carter Award for excellence in teaching (1998).