UCA College of Business adds 5 faculty members

The University of Central Arkansas College of Business has added five faculty members across its four departments.

The Department of Accounting hired Josh Simer; the Department of Economics, Finance and Insurance and Risk Management hired Jacob Bundrick and Collin Hodges, Ph.D.; the Department of Marketing and Management hired Chris Tuggle, Ph.D.; and the Department of Management Information Systems hired Mike Casey, Ph.D.

Simer, an assistant professor of accounting, comes to the college from the University of Mississippi where he was an instructor. Simer earned his bachelor’s and master’s from Tennessee Technological University and will complete his doctorate in accountancy from the University of Mississippi this fall.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Accounting Association.

Bundrick, a lecturer of economics, is a UCA College of Business graduate. He earned his bachelor’s in economics in 2013 and a master’s in applied economics at Johns Hopkins University in 2014.

Most recently, Bundrick was a policy analyst for the Arkansas Center for Research in Economics, housed in the UCA College of Business. Bundrick conducted research on public finance, financial economics and economic development.

Hodges, a visiting assistant professor of economics, comes to UCA from West Virginia University. Hodges earned his bachelor’s in economics from the College of Charleston and his master’s and doctorate from West Virginia University.

He conducts research in the fields of public, regional and health economics. His current research project seeks to identify the local and individual characteristics associated with an increased risk of opioid overdose death. He is a member of the American Economic Association, North American Regional Science Association, and the Southern Regional Science Association.

Tuggle, an assistant professor of management, comes to the college from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Previously, he was an assistant professor in the University of Missouri’s Trulaske College of Business, as well as an instructor and post-doctoral fellow in the Texas A&M University Mays Business School.

His research on board compositions, recruitment and oversight, shareholder influence and activist funds has been published in the Harvard Business Review, Academy of Management Journal, Strategic Management Journal and the Journal of Management Studies.

Tuggle earned his bachelor’s and M.B.A. from Missouri Southern State University in accounting and marketing, respectively. He earned his doctorate in strategic management and entrepreneurship from Texas A&M University. He is a member of the Academy of Management and Strategic Management Society.

Casey will be an assistant professor of management information systems. He earned his doctorate in computer and information science this year from UA-Little Rock. He has a master’s in advanced studies in teacher leadership and a bachelor’s in mathematics, both from UCA.

Casey has conducted research in areas such as information management, data quality, entity resolution and data stewardship. He has been published in various journals, including Oil, Gas & Energy Quarterly and International Journal of Information Systems.

The UCA College of Business has more than 1,600 undergraduate and graduate students. It offers 13 baccalaureate degrees, two master’s and one graduate certificate across four academic departments and houses the state’s only insurance and risk management program.