Payne Named Interim CAS Dean

Department of Economics Chair James Payne will assume the position of interim dean of Illinois State University's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) for two years, effective July 1.  A nationwide search will be conducted to find a permanent replacement for current CAS Dean Gary Olson, who is leaving Illinois State for the provost position at Idaho State University.

Payne, who has served as Department of Economics chair since 2003, earned his Ph.D. in economics from Florida State University.   Prior to his appointment at Illinois State, Payne held tenure track appointments at Oakland University and Eastern Kentucky University, as well as visiting appointments at the University of Southern Mississippi Economics Institute and the University of Kentucky.  He has also been a Fulbright research scholar and Fulbright senior specialist at the Institute of Economics in Zagreb, Croatia.  

In addition to teaching a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate level economics courses, Payne is actively engaged in faculty-student research collaborations.  He is a research fellow of the Academy of Economics and Finance and serves as the editor-in-chief for the Journal of Economics and Finance and as an editorial board member for nine academic journals.

 "I am pleased and delighted that Dr. James Payne has agreed to serve as interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences," said Illinois State University Provost Sheri Noren Everts. "Dr. Payne is a nationally recognized scholar, an excellent administrator, and a talented teacher."