Ph.D., Economics, University of Connecticut, 2000
M.A., Economics, University of Connecticut, 1997
B.A., Economics, Framingham State University, 1994
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 20 years helping universities excel by focusing on the talent acquisition, cost efficiencies, and development needs of students, faculty and organizations. Working closely with faculty and staff he has led increases in enrollments, rankings, retention, student placement and satisfaction, faculty recruiting, alumni engagement, corporate partnering, fundraising, new curriculum design, and the development and launch of online degree programs.
See MoreAs Dean of the University of New Haven’s AACSB‐accredited Pompea College of Business, he has led the effort to become a leader in developing STEM-certified business programs. The Pompea College of Business offers six STEM-certified business programs: B.S. Business Analytics, MBA, M.S. Accounting, M.S. Business Analytics, M.S. Finance & Financial Analytics, and M.S. Sport Management.
Under Dean Kench’s leadership, the Pompea College of Business established the first AACSB accredited esports management concentration in the U.S., co-developed an interdisciplinary B.S. esports and Gaming program with concentrations in corruption and gambling, game studies, and esports performance and health, and the first online, AACSB accredited M.S. in esports Business program in the world. These programs are supported by an esports training and competition center and a varsity esports team, both established in 2020.
Working with the Dean and faculty of the Henry C. Lee College for Criminal Justice and Forensic Science, Kench leveraged the University of New Haven’s well-known AACSB accredited Business Management program and its internationally raked Criminal Justice program to create a nationally unique B.S. Business Management program with a concentration in Criminal Justice.
Dean Kench also co‐developed the University’s cross‐disciplinary Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, a collaboration between the College of Business and the Tagliatela College of Engineering. Students from each of the University’s academic colleges and schools take courses that include Introduction to Business and Entrepreneurship, Fundamentals of Design Thinking, Design and Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Business Planning and Modeling.
Prior to coming to the University of New Haven, Dr. Kench was chair and professor of economics at the Sykes College of Business at the University of Tampa, where he was the 2009 and 2012 recipient of the university’s Teaching Excellence Award and he received the College of Business’s Researcher of the Year Award in 2008.
He has served as a visiting professor of economics at the University of New Hampshire, an adjunct faculty of economics at Bentley University, and an instructor of economics at the University of Connecticut.
He received his B.A. in economics from Framingham State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Connecticut.
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).
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on a new educational program the university created with Sachem Financial to support, at no charge, small and medium-sized businesses that attained either the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) or Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, was referenced from his 2020 interview with Forbes on the “two reasons large debt can be concerning: It can hinder private markets, and it can contribute to inflation.”
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, says the rising energy cost pushes up the price for other goods and services. “Inflation is real. It’s sustained. It could be self-reinforcing.”
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, was quoted from his interview with Newsweek in August about automatic stabilizers for the economy.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, co-wrote an op-ed on rethinking the economics of higher education.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, co-wrote an op-ed on the need for a federal government stimulus for regional public universities and mid-tier private colleges amid the pandemic.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments that certain industries are not recovering as quickly from the pandemic.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the two reasons the deficit is concerning.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the economic impact of loss of jobs and homes.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the economy looking like a W-shaped recovery.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the time it will take Connecticut to recover from the loss of 300,000 jobs.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, co-wrote an op-ed regarding the rising public debt levels.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on consumer confidence increasing.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the opening of small businesses.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the high unemployment rates throughout New England.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the College of Business, discusses the economic recovery for the state and the country.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, wrote an op-ed about the short and long-term impact on the economy from the pandemic.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, discusses the solvency of small business as the pandemic continues.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the economic impact for jobs and businesses.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments with other economists and labor experts on jobs going from temporary furlough to permanent layoffs.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the types of businesses that have been severely impacted by the pandemic.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the labor force and unemployment rates.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments about local municipalities and their revenue.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on how the University of New Haven’s President Steven H. Kaplan, Ph.D., began the partnership with HyperX and developed a new academic program spearheaded by Jason Chung, assistant professor of esports management.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on how the stimulus checks being distributed help with basic needs.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the stimulus checks helping to bridge some families while they are waiting for their unemployment checks.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, talks about the number of unemployment claims that continue to rise.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business and Jason Chung, assistant professor of sports management and director of esports, discuss the partnership with HyperX.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business and Jason Chung, assistant professor of sports management and director of esports, discuss the partnership with HyperX.
In the Media
Brian Kench, Ph.D., dean of the Pompea College of Business, comments on the University of New Haven having one of the first MBA programs in the country to be entirely STEM.
In the Media
Brian T. Kench, noted economist and dean of the Pompea College of Business, discusses the new STEM certified undergraduate and graduate business programs, including a "one of a kind" MS in sports management with a concentration in business analytics.
In the Media
Brian Kench, dean of the Pompea College of Business, talks about the Pompea College of Business earning accreditation under new Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) standards.