Beacom School of Business Welcomes New Faculty
The new faculty members include Kwabena Kesse, assistant professor of finance, Karen Davies, instructor of accounting, Bart Hanus, assistant professor of operational analytics, and Matt Friedman, visiting assistant professor of economics.
“We are excited to be adding these exceptional scholars to our faculty at the Beacom School of Business,” said Venky Venkatachalam, dean of the Beacom School of Business. “These professionals bring not only educational expertise but also real-world experience that will benefit our students. These additions complement our current faculty and improve our ability to provide a first-class education to our students.”
Kwabena Kesse is an assistant professor of finance at the Beacom School of Business. Kesse completed his doctoral degree at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Ghana and a master’s degree in actuarial science from Ball State University. His research interests include currency carry trade, emerging market investments, foreign direct investments and international corporate finance. Kesse will be primarily teaching investments, security analysis and international finance at the University of South Dakota. Kesse previously taught at the University of North Carolina and at Bradley University.
Karen Davies returns to the Beacom School of Business as an instructor of accounting. She teaches graduate and undergraduate accounting classes including principles of accounting and managerial accounting. Her research interests include practitioner topics in not-for-profit accounting and governmental accounting, tax reform and teaching methodology. She received her Bachelor of Science in business administration, majoring in accounting and her Master of Professional Accountancy degree from the University of South Dakota. Davies previously served as the CFO for the University of South Dakota Foundation for more than 20 years.
Bart Hanus is an assistant professor of decision sciences at the Beacom School of Business. He earned undergraduate degrees in both accounting and corporate finance. He graduated with a Ph.D. degree in business computer information systems from the University of North Texas. His primary research interests revolve around information security and other topics related to this area. Hanus will primarily be responsible for teaching information systems for business professionals. Prior to joining the Beacom School of Business, Hanus taught information systems courses at Emporia State University.
Matt Friedman is a visiting assistant professor of economics at the Beacom School of Business. Friedman earned a doctoral degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and holds dual-degrees in economics and broadcast journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder. Friedman’s research interests include public economics, law and economics, applied microeconomics and tax policy. Friedman previously taught economics at Chaminade University and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
