The W. Frank Barton School of Business at Wichita State University announced Tuesday a newly formed Institute for the Study of Economic Growth. The school received a $3.6 million gift of support from the Charles Koch Foundation.
Barton School Dean Anand Desai says students will be the greatest beneficiaries of this grant. He says the institute will help attract and retain outstanding faculty and increase the value of business and economics education at Wichita State.
"Students will be engaged in research with faculty members we will hire through the institute. At the same time, they will be exposed to some of the things about what is the role of innovative entrepreneurial activities in an economy, how does that lead to economic growth and issues related to that."
Desai says the goal is to provide the region a talent pool that is well versed in the economics of value creation, growth and economic well-being.
The institute will eventually be housed in the Barton School of Business on the university's new Innovation Campus. Desai says he expects an executive director for the institute to be hired by next July or August.
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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.
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